Jimmy Garoppolo’s San Francisco 49ers Future Already A Hot Top Of Discussion

Jimmy Garoppolo may not want to talk his future beyond what has so far been an impressive 2022 campaign for the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, but the conjecture around the next step for him and a franchise that did not expect to have him on their roster this campaign has already begun in earnest.

Having failed to find a trade partner and agreed to serve as Trey Lance’s backup in a decision that looks prescient by both Garoppolo and the 49ers following Lance’s season-ending injury, the former New England Patriot is set to be an unrestricted free agent in the coming offseason.

Asked about his future on Friday ahead of the 49ers’ Week 12 meeting with the New Orleans Saints, Garoppolo replied:

“I’m trying to worry about red zone [offense] today. No, I’ll worry about that at the end of the year. There’s too much going on right now, especially in a short week like this. It’s been a bit of a catch-up week, so had to catch up on sleep, catch up on our film stuff, but yeah, we’ll worry about that when we get there.”

Plenty are already thinking about what Garoppolo may do come the new league year, though, and — with the 49ers leading the NFC West at 6-4 and Garoppolo playing some of the best football of his career — it is feasible he could have a Super Bowl title to his name as a starting quarterback when he comes to make his next career move.

One such commentator hoping Garoppolo and the 49ers can find a way to stay together, not just for the immediate future but for the long term, is Hall of Fame quarterback and former Super Bowl-winner Steve Young.

Speaking on KNBR this week, Young (h/t 49ers Webzone) said of Garoppolo: “I’ve come to the conclusion [that] I don’t want Jimmy around for a couple of more months. I want Jimmy around for 10 years.

“How can anyone say that the quarterback you saw play on Monday night [in the blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals] can’t be here for 10 years?” The most exciting thing for me is I want Jimmy to become the full measure of who he is in this offense because this offense is the best offense in the league. If you said, ‘Steve, go play right now. … You get to pick anywhere.’ … If I could choose somewhere, I would choose here.

“So for Jimmy, I know … I’ll choose for him. There’s nowhere else you’d want to be. Trust me on this, James Garoppolo. There’s no place that you’d want to be than right here. And so, in my mind, if I’m hard on the situations, it’s that I don’t want him to be here for a couple of months. I want him to be here for 10 years because if you have answers at quarterback for 10 years, then you’re in the mix every year, like the Chiefs are every year, like the Bills will be every year.”

There are several factors that would complicate the 49ers potentially re-signing Garoppolo. The most obvious is the presence of Lance, whom the Niners drafted to be the face of the franchise.

The value of having a quarterback on a rookie contract is that it allows a team to allocate resources elsewhere. By committing money to Garoppolo, the 49ers would be deliberately taking away the advantage drafting Lance gave them.

Cap space is also an issue. San Francisco is projected to be $7.2 million under the 2023 salary cap, per Spotrac, and will likely pursue a contract extension for edge rusher Nick Bosa in the offseason.

Room to re-sign Garoppolo may, therefore, be limited. However, Garoppolo is producing extremely composed and efficient quarterback play and arguably demonstrating the most ambition as a thrower that he has displayed at any point in his career.

He is third in Football Outsiders DVOA and DYAR among quarterbacks and heads into the Week 12 matchup with New Orleans third in Expected Points Added per play, trailing only Tua Tagovailoa and Patrick Mahomes, per rbsdm.com.

That efficiency is in part a product of Kyle Shanahan’s system and the level of offensive weaponry around him. However, with Garoppolo and the 49er attack performing at such a high level, it is understandable some would now be reticent about pivoting from him to a quarterback in Lance with fewer than three NFL starts under his belt in 2023.

The end result of the 49ers’ quest to win the Super Bowl this year will determine how far San Francisco takes any possible discussions about retaining Garoppolo, but if he continues on this trajectory against the Saints, chatter about him staying with the team beyond the end of 2022 will only increase.