It didn’t take Jimmy Garoppolo very long to make an impact for the San Francisco 49ers.
The fourth-year quarterback has led the 49ers to victory in both of his starts with the team this season, throwing for a combined 627 yards with a touchdown in wins over the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.
However, it doesn’t appear that Jimmy G’s strong first impression will have any effect on his contract negotiations with the Niners. Speaking with the media Wednesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan explained why San Francisco doesn’t feel pressured to extend Garoppolo long-term.
“For me personally, it doesn’t impact anything,” Shanahan said of Garoppolo’s start, per NBC Sports’ Matt Malocco. “I thought it was so neat about the situation that I didn’t feel that, because of that (franchise) option, that we had to see something here or there, and we had to do all this stuff.
“It’s been able for us to just try to do things the right way, put him in when we thought he was ready to, not put any pressure on him where he has to do all this to show something. Obviously, we’re very encouraged with how these two games have been.”
The 49ers acquired Garopplo in a trade with the New England Patriots on Oct. 30. The 26-year-old’s contract expires at season’s end, but signs point to San Francisco using the franchise tag on their new signal-caller. Last season, the one-year cost of a quarterback franchise tag was north of $21 million, but that number likely will go up as QBs sign new deals over the offseason.
It’s hard to imagine the 49ers not retaining Garoppolo by one way or the other. The team will be in good position to select a top-tier quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft, but no QB prospect in the upcoming class brings more value than Garoppolo at present. So we expect Jimmy G will be throwing passes in the Bay Area for years to come.
