John Lynch Says There's No Doubt Jimmy Garoppolo Will Be the 49ers QB in 2021. Translation: Jimmy G is Wicked Available.
JUSTIN LANE. Shutterstock Images.Full Press Coverage - If you believe today’s NFL scuttlebutt, the San Francisco 49ers are supposed to be one of those teams looking to change quarterbacks this offseason – moving on from Jimmy Garoppolo to … well, someone. The only question is: How much should we believe?
Good question. So we asked somebody who knows: 49ers’ GM John Lynch. We contacted him for the latest “Eye Test for Two” podcast and asked how committed he and the 49ers are to Garoppolo. The answer? Very.
“If he is injury-free,” Lynch was asked, “is there any doubt in your mind that Jimmy Garoppolo is your quarterback when you line up in September?”
His response was immediate.
“No,” he said. “Not at all. I really believe that.” …
Being available is a big part of this thing,” Lynch acknowledged of Garoppolo. “So we … probably as a stated goal … we have to insulate ourselves better. We got to have better options if he’s not there.
“I’ve watched people go through this in their careers where they struggled early. It happened to me early, and then I went eight years without missing a practice. So I believe things can happen, and I believe they will for him. I really believe that Jimmy is our guy.”
I've spent the weeks since the football season ended using a lot of words to discuss a lot of different quarterbacks and the chances they'll come to New England. But there comes a time when a man needs to stop tomcattin' around and declare his intentions. Should the Patriots draft a blue chipper they feel they can plug and play from Week 1 of his rookie season and compete for a seventh banner, I'm all in. But failing that, or if they draft more of a developmental guy, then I know whom I'm spoken for. I want Jimmy Garoppolo. All 6-2, 225, handsome, dreamy, mobile, accurate, attractive, familiar ounce of him.
Are injuries a concern with Jimmy G? Of course they are. But they are with everyone, with the lone exception of Tom Brady. None of us are promised a tomorrow besides him. Every NFL player who steps on a field finds himself standing in the Injured Reserve on deck circle.
But it was just a year ago that Garoppolo was an NFC champion quarterback. We forget now, but it was his success that was considered humiliating for the Patriots. He was the symbol of all the conspiracy theories that Bill Belichick wanted to make him his QB1 but Brady went up the proverbial back stairs to the owner's office complaining that he felt threatened. And that meddling Mr. Kraft forced his GM to trade his quarterback of the future, who was now making the whole franchise look petty and stupid. It's funny how quickly that narrative has changed to the New England didn't do anything for Brady and all that dysfunction forced him out and by the way, Jimmy G is an unreliable, delicate little sissy boy. Jimmy Glassoppolo.
Regardless, Garoppolo is my guy. My nation turns its lonely eyes to him. So you might think I'd consider this statement by John Lynch to be bad news. And some oddsmakers would agree. I've seen him as much as +1500 to be the next Pats quarterback, with Marcus Mariota (!) the favorite at +250, Jarrett Stidham third at +400 and Unnamed Rookie at +500. But I'm not buying it.
I might not be fluent in Executivespeak, but I have a conversational command of it. And can Google Translate what I don't understand. This is classic GM talk. The words of the guy holding a yard sale who doesn't want to haul this table back up into the attic but wants you to think it's a priceless heirloom he can't stand the thought of parting with.
To me, the operative phrases here are "Being available is a big part of this thing," and "We got to have better options." I know that's couched as if Lynch is talking strictly about a better backup than Nick Mullens. But it's clear he's got doubts about Garoppolo and is looking to move on. And I'm not alone. From Pro Football Talk:
Surely, the 49ers are looking for a better option. With a minimal cap consequence ($2.4 million) and a significant cash and cap charge for keeping Garoppolo in 2021 ($25 million), there’s every reason to look for someone who could be better at the position. …
So, yes, there is lingering doubt as to whether Garoppolo will be the starter in 2021. If there isn’t, Lynch isn’t doing his job to the best of his ability. …
And if a better quarterback becomes available to the 49ers and the 49ers acquire him, don’t be surprised if Garoppolo is cut. Who else would pay him $25 million for 2021? …
If/when that happens, don’t expect many in the media to call out Lynch for saying, “But you said there’s no doubt that Garoppolo will be the guy.” If anyone does, the response is simple: The circumstances changed.
The 49ers, in our view, are quietly hoping that they will.
"Who else would pay him $25 million?" you say?
This is the thought that comforts me as I walk through this vale of tears. The scenario plays out that the Heir Apparent returns. Belichick's master plan to replace Brady with the quarterback he groomed for the job finally comes to fruition. Four seasons, two Super Bowls and one championship later. (And if you're scoring along at home, four Super Bowls and two championships by the QBs.) Next season we get Garoppolo vs. Brady at Gillette in the most highly anticipated regular season game since some of the Pats-Colts battles in the early 2000s. Then they meet again in Super Bowl LVI. The Patriots win. Belichick gets his redemption. Garoppolo throws the Lombardi trophy from one Duckboat to the next somewhere on Boylston Street. Then he and I go stay at Sandals Jamaica and get our hair done in cornrows. OK, maybe not that last part. But I wouldn't say no.
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If it works out that way, especially in that best case scenario PFT mentioned where the Niners give him his outright release and he comes back to Foxboro for the very reasonable price of no draft picks, it will make up for a lot of awfulness over the past year. Make it so.