On 49ers Talk, Matt Marocco and Jennifer Lee Chan breakdown if it was a mistake by the team not to have Jimmy Garoppolo practicing during Training Camp if it was always an option he could return.
Jimmy Garoppolo shocked the football world Monday by agreeing to a massive pay cut to return to the 49ers as the backup quarterback to Trey Lance.
On Tuesday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported the timeline of when the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo began discussions to keep their relationship intact.
“I’d say about four or five days ago, conversations picked up between Jimmy Garoppolo’s agents and the 49ers about him possibly staying,” Rapoport said on “Good Morning Football.”
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That means Garoppolo’s agent Don Yee began serious discussions with San Francisco last Thursday or Friday -- the day of the 49ers’ preseason finale against the Houston Texans or the day after.
“I think any scenario is possible,” coach Kyle Shanahan said of Garoppolo's future on Aug. 23, exactly one week before Tuesday’s final roster cut-down deadline that appeared to mark the likely end to the veteran quarterback's tenure in the Bay.
Although Garoppolo remains on the 49ers, there is still a possibility that he winds up on another team by the end of the season. Garoppolo’s restructured contract includes a no-trade clause, but that simply indicates the quarterback needs to give the approval to any trade. Garoppolo has total control of his destination if a trade partner emerges.
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If an injury occurs to another quarterback around the league during the regular season, Garoppolo’s name likely will be the first to be speculated, just as he was when there was fear New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson suffered a serious knee injury in the preseason.
“They still might have a chance to trade him at some point this season because they cut his salary down to $6.5 million, fully guaranteed,” Rapoport said. “He gets nearly $10 million in incentives if he starts and wins based on a per-game basis. If he is in there, he gets rewarded. This basically allows them to hold onto him and maybe trade him later this season.”
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For now, Garoppolo is the 49ers' backup. He will be handed a playbook and will begin practicing with the team once again.
If Lance struggles at quarterback to begin the season, however, that's when things might get interesting.