SANTA CLARA, Calif. – With the exception of what San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan would call a shocking evolution, defender Jimmy Garoppolo has played his last shot of the 2020 NFL season as he continues to make his way back from a high sprain of the ankle.
This does not mean, however, that Garoppolo played his last game as Niner.
Asked on Monday if he intends for Garoppolo to return as a starting defender in 2021, Shanahan reiterated that he did and went into detail about what will go into their off-season approach with him and his overall position.
“Yes, I think Jimmy will be our defender next year,” Shanahan said, repeating what he said after Garoppolo sprained his ankle for the second time on November 1st.
At the time, Shanahan left some room for a possible defender, showing that no list decisions will be made for next season so far from when it is scheduled to begin.
When Shanahan said again on Monday that he believes Garoppolo will be the team’s defender in 2021, he was asked why he is so sure of it, given the size of Garoppolo’s contract and the history of his injuries.
Again, Shanahan explained, as he and general manager John Lynch did, that they will always consider all the options that could make the team better.
“You can’t say anything for sure,” Shanahan said. “Don’t sit here and make promises with nothing. When you build a football team, it’s your job to gather the best team from year to year.”
But Shanahan’s support for Garoppolo is more directly related to the idea that if the 49ers replace him, they should be sure they will receive an upgrade. This is not an easy task, given that the 49ers are 22-8 in regular season games, Garoppolo started 7-26 in all games started by other defenders since Shanahan took over in 2017.
“You look at every boulevard and see if there’s anything out there that can make you much better,” Shanahan said. “This is the same answer for every job, but look at Jimmy, look at what he did, look at where he is financially. We better have a very good answer if you find something better than that, because Jimmy has shown in a year that he is the guy who can take us to the Super Bowl and I also think that Jimmy will be much better. play more “.
Garoppolo is scheduled to raise $ 26.9 million against the salary cap next season and $ 27 million in 2022.
The 49ers could theoretically move from Garoppolo and save $ 24.1 million in ceiling space, with just $ 2.8 million in dead money in an off-season in which the salary cap is expected to drop and should have around 40 players reaching a form of free agency.
But Shanahan doesn’t think Garoppolo’s salary is particularly heavy, noting that since he signed his five-year deal with $ 137.5 million in 2018, a lot of other defenders have surpassed him. Garoppolo’s $ 26.9 million salary cap for next season would be the 11th highest in the NFL.
“That’s about it,” Shanahan said. “So it’s not ridiculous or anything like that. We can solve all this. And not to mention, look at Jimmy’s track record when he was here. Jimmy, you can win with. He proved it. He proved it. that he is a defender in this league. “
Many of Garoppolo’s questions are not so important about his contract as the combination of his contract and his injury history. With Garoppolo unlikely to play against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, he has missed 23 regular-season games in the past three seasons.
In addition to the broken ACL, which cost him 13 games in 2018 and the pair of high ankle sprains that kept him out of 10 games this year, Garoppolo also had a shoulder injury that prevented him from making a few starts when he was with the New England Patriots in 2016.
That, along with free backup agency Nick Mullens (restricted) and CJ Beathard (unrestricted), means the Niners will have to take a long look at their quarterbacks, no matter what they go for in 2021.
“Yes, we need to be able to improve our team and other things if it hurts, but also what will help you if, if you ever have a backup to play for a whole year, you try to keep the rest healthy list, “Shanahan said. “It will be a difficult year for Jimmy, too, if he stays there. Yes, we would have had a better chance because of how good Jimmy is, but it was hard for anyone to be put in that position. So, you will not sit and react too much just because our reserve defenders had to play all year in certain difficult situations, but you will analyze who we can get next year. “
As for Shanahan’s point of view about the rest of the list, the 49ers came out of Saturday’s victory against the Arizona Cardinals, with even more injury losses in a season full of him.
Left-back Trent Williams (elbow sprain) and wide debutant Brandon Aiyuk (sprained ankle) will not play against the Seahawks on Sunday after suffering injuries to the Cardinals. Shanahan also ruled out defender Richard Sherman for this week as he continues to face a calf injury. Williams and Sherman will be unrestricted free agents.
The 49ers also placed Taybor Pepper and Hroniss Grasu on the reserve list / COVID-19 months.