49ers Officially Moving On From Jimmy Garoppolo But Deebo Samuel Is Definitely Staying
The San Francisco 49ers reported to training camp Tuesday and erstwhile quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo reported, too. But his days as the team's starting quarterback are over.
That's according to general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan, who handed the reins of the team's offense to second-year quarterback Trey Lance.
"We have moved on to Trey," Shanahan announced.
And everyone more or less expected this. The 49ers drafted Lance last year with the No. 3 overall selection so it's time to start collecting on that investment.
But the Garoppolo presence made that transition interesting. Until now.
"We'll always think about Jimmy but he knows we have a team to think about, too, and we'll work together to figure out the best thing for that," Shanahan said.
The 49ers continue to try to trade Garoppolo. He is "healthy," the coach said but is working through a throwing program as he strengthens a surgically repaired throwing shoulder. There's no plan for Garoppolo to practice with the team until he's traded.
About that: The 49ers aren't having a fire sale, although it's now clear they have no intentions of keeping Garoppolo.
"You can't just give, one of the better quarterback in the league, just make him available for no reason to the whole world," Shanahan said.
Even as the 49ers are working toward trading Garoppolo, there was a small possibility his mere presence might overshadow Lance. Not so, Shanahan said.
"This is Trey's team," Shanahan said. "That's nothing against Jimmy, we made that decision a year ago and we're going with that. We're not going to mess around with that anymore.
"Jimmy knows we're going with Trey. Trey knows we're going with Trey and the team knows."
If Garoppolo's days with the 49ers are numbered the team has no intention on giving up on receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel, who requested a trade in the offseason, is expected to sign a significant contract extension in the coming days.
"We've had productive and substantive talks and I don't want to get everyone excited that something's imminent because we're not there yet," Lynch said.
But ...
"Really hopeful that in the near future we'll be able to announce something that's exciting for everyone involved. Deebo's here today and we're excited about moving forward with him as part of this team."
Samuel finished fifth among receivers with 1,405 yards last season. His 18.2 yards per reception and 6 TD receptions led him to asking for an extension this offseason that pays him among the league's elite receivers.
And that apparently is the way that's headed.
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