The San Francisco 49ers finally have their man.
The Niners shocked the football world Monday by sending a 2018 second-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for Jimmy Garoppolo, who immediately becomes San Francisco’s quarterback of the future.
There had been reports that Niners general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan had their eye on Garoppolo this offfseason, and Lynch confirmed those rumors Monday night in his first interview about the trade.
“We’ve studied him hard,” Lynch told the team’s official website. “We studied him hard this offseason — we tried to do a deal (with the Patriots) this offseason. It didn’t come to fruition. It presented itself now, and we felt like it was an opportunity we had to jump at.”
Garoppolo reportedly drew interest from several teams this summer — most notably the Cleveland Browns — but New England declined to deal its backup QB. Now that Jimmy G is in San Francisco, though, Lynch believes the sky is the limit for the 25-year-old.
“We are thrilled for Jimmy to join the 49ers family,” Lynch said in a statement, via the team’s official website. “Jimmy is a player we have researched extensively since Kyle and I joined the 49ers. I am extremely pleased this came together (Monday night) and we all think it is a big win for our organization.
“Albeit in limited game action, Jimmy has displayed the characteristics and traits that we believe are vital to being a successful quarterback in this league. He has had the rare opportunity to sit and learn from a future Hall of Fame quarterback (Tom Brady) in a championship atmosphere. We look forward to Jimmy joining the team (Tuesday) and hitting the ground running.”
The Niners won’t move too fast with Garoppolo, though. Lynch revealed the team still will start C.J. Beathard at quarterback this Sunday as it catches its newest addition up to speed.
“We talked to Jimmy (on Monday night) after dealing with the Patriots, who were wonderful in the process,” Lynch added. “… He’s very excited. We just need to get him out here and get him going. I think the plans will be that C.J. will start this weekend. Kyle makes those decisions.
“Everything’s fluid, but we have to have Jimmy ready with the playbook, as well. There’s going to be a lot of learning in a short amount of time, but that’s the NFL, and we think Jimmy is up to the task.”
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
