For now, it’s about football with the 49ers and new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that he doesn’t anticipate a long term deal for Garoppolo to be completed before the season is over. In fact, Shanahan said neither he nor Garoppolo are thinking about contract right now.
Because the 49ers have the franchise tag, there’s no urgency to get a long-term contract done with Garoppolo before free agency this offseason. It’s allowed Shanahan, general manager John Lynch and Garoppolo to go through the last part of this season without thinking about money.
“We are obviously very encouraged with how these two games have been and we’ll see what happens here in the offseason,” Shanahan said on Monday. “That’s when we will assess everything. That’s not something he’s thinking about. It’s not something we are thinking about either.”
Before then, there are likely to be plenty of tweets and discussions about whether Garoppolo will try to get a long-term contract out of the 49ers, or if he’ll sign under the franchise tag, which will be about $25 million for one year.
The suggestion here is to ignore all of it, because the bottom line is Garoppolo is likely to be a 49er for a long time. Whether a long-term deal comes this off-season or next, doesn’t really matter. The 49ers want him, he has proven he has great promise and the team has plenty of cap space to sign him to either the franchise tag or a long-term deal.
The only person who could disrupt the beginning of what could be a beautiful friendship is Garoppolo. He could refuse to sign the franchise tag and ask to become a free agent. But that seems unlikely. While Garoppolo doesn’t say much, his teammates have completely embraced him. He’s playing for a coach who’s a master game-planner and quarterback developer, and he’s on a young team that appears to be on the way up.
Garoppolo could undoubtedly be the face of a proud franchise’s return to prominence. Who wouldn’t want that?
Garoppolo has already said that the locker room is “unique,” and he’s expressed appreciation about how he’s been embraced. Garoppolo even said the trust and closeness he’s developed with his teammates is almost as important as creating timing with his receivers.
Given that, signing a long-term deal this off-season makes sense for both sides if Garoppolo continues to play well.
For Garoppolo it would guarantee him riches if he sustained a long-term or career-ending injury. For the 49ers, getting Garoppolo signed would signal to the rest of the team that they are serious about spending money and being a contender.
The 49ers have shed contracts and money, they might have over $100 million in cap space when the season ends. What they haven’t done yet is sign a superstar player to a big contract. Garoppolo would be the perfect first choice. He’s the quarterback. He’s well-liked, the Bay Area is already starting to embrace him. He has all the makings of the next big Bay Area star athlete. He’s a humble, self-effacing guy who’s dedicated to his craft.
Of course so much has to happen for Garoppolo to assume the superstar mantel. He’s only started two games.
Nevertheless, he’s greatly exceeded expectations, and Shanahan seemed heartened by Garoppolo’s ability to play well under pressure, which is what he did in Houston.
“First time we’ve had Jimmy when he has been under duress like that, and he handled it very well,” Shanahan said after Garoppolo was hit nine times by the Texans.
At one point, tight end Garrett Celek said Garoppolo’s mouth was bleeding. He took a few crushing blows, including two from former first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney.
Some quarterbacks shrink after getting knocked around. In fact, in two out of the three occasions Garoppolo got slammed in the pocket by Clowney, Garoppolo turned in big plays. Clowney hit Garoppolo on plays in which he completed a 29-yarder to fullback Kyle Juszczyk and a 32-yarder to wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. Clowney’s biggest hit on him happened after Garoppolo lofted a perfect pass to running back Carlos Hyde at the goal line that Hyde seemed to lose against the NRG Stadium backdrop.
The upshot is Garoppolo checked the box next to “stands in and takes a hit.”
If Garoppolo turns into a good quarterback, the 49ers will have no problem signing him. And whether that’s this year or next shouldn’t matter to anyone except Garoppolo and the 49ers. So fans can relax and simply watch if Garoppolo can be the next great 49ers quarterback.
