Upgrading the quarterback was an immediate goal for the 49ers.
When their season was over, they knew they had to make a difference in that position. When your starting quarterback is struggling to stay on the field immensely, you have a tremendous problem. It’s okay to get along with other starters who have the time. It’s practically impossible to do this with the starting quarterback out.
This was the repeated reason the 49ers had been asking about quarterbacks all off-season and how they led to Trey Lance. Jimmy Garoppolo simply cannot find happiness with his health. The guy is essentially glassy considering how easily he can get injured and miss the time. Even Sean McVay mentioned on the Flying Coach podcast with McVay and Peter Schrager, while Kyle Shanahan was a guest, that the only problem the 49ers had with Garoppolo was lack of availability.
But are injuries the only reason the 49ers are pulling away from Garoppolo?
I call that bullshit.
There is absolutely NO CHANCE that the 49ers will move away from Garoppolo just because of its availability issues. If that were true, the 49ers wouldn’t have hit the press from the moment their off-season began inquiring about upgrades. Nor would they have traded a hefty draft capital to advance and take Lance into the draft. They would have been ranked 12th and would have taken Mac Jones to look after him and be the heir to the throne (h / t Ben Meyerson from All49ersSI).
Injuries obviously play a role in why the 49ers are pulling away from Garoppolo. And it’s also possible that this is the basis of why they looked for upgrades. However, I totally deny that this is the ONLY reason, as McVay said on the podcast, and as Shanahan has said several times. Not only did Shanahan want a quarterback he didn’t have to worry about, he wanted one who could “work out of his pocket,” as he constantly notes. Garoppolo is struggling with this. He can’t stand in there and work through his progress or manipulate the bag so he doesn’t run into sacks.
Instead, he transforms into a tap dancer as soon as his first reading is taken away. He literally starts freaking out and panics like a deer in headlights. This must frustrate Shanahan, especially when the recipients are wide open most of the time. That’s why they ended up with Lance. Shanahan sees him as a guy who can cover the offensive. He sees him as a player who can work in his pocket and when the game isn’t there he can do something of his own with his athleticism.
Even with a healthy Garoppolo, the offense of the 49ers is limited. With Lance, Shanahan suddenly has a new dynamic that he can add to his offensive and fully optimize. The 49ers can go on saying it, but injuries aren’t the only cause of Garoppolo.
