did not rush their rookie
quarterback who they traded up to number-3 to get into The
Fray they stuck with the guy who took them
to Super Bowl, 50 for and almost won it.
Now, after a strange turn of events that no one saw coming,
including 49ers coach Cal Shanahan the guy who was
supposed to be out in Jimmy Garoppolo
is back
and
Here's here's some of Kyle Shanahan from a lengthy press
conference yesterday. Explaining some of the Dynamics
regarding the idea of Jimmy being out and now suddenly
Jimmy being back as the back up
to Trey, Lance,
I think that was because
the chances were to me it seems slim to none just with
the possibility of that happening. I mean,
I told Jimmy came in here, the first week of training camp
like I told you guys we would talk. And you know, we talk to
regular Least
I can do is I'll carry wasn't a meeting, sir, practice. But
I remember the first week of training can me saying to Jimmy
like, hey, if they're, if you don't like any of these
opportunities, if you don't go to the place you want, you
can't get the contract that you want, like,
we would love to have you here as a backup in a backup role
and that deal. But
I want you to know that we feel that way, but
I also think there's no way you're not going to get
something as we as this goes throughout training camp and
Jimmy agreed with that. And so we waited throughout all
training camp and then as we realized we I think as he
solved the other situations out there and I think
to me it seems like everyone was just waiting for us to cut
them before that they could see how much they could get them
for.
But once the last Saturday preseason game happened and no
one got injured, then
Jimmy died. This was his best situation where that he liked
and that's all we were so pumped because it's obviously
a better situation for the Niners, we love getting Jimmy
back,
but to have them there earlier in Camp was
An option. And we're going to put them out there and practice
for his sake and for our sake and he was on a 24 million
dollar contract and he was going to go somewhere else,
but none of that came into fruition
and which
we would have ended up having to let him go under that
current deal. That wasn't an option.
But we were always clear to Jimmy that him salary cap wise
and stuff in a backup role in supporting tray and that and if
they have worked for him,
I was a no-brainer for us.
We I just don't think the chances of that were happened.
We're going to happen, and it ended up being that way. And
so when it was all said and done, even though it was pretty
shocking to us,
that we thought was a win-win for both sides.
And it is a win-win for both sides. We talked about that
yesterday. Chris is, I listen to college here and explain
that,
I really am flipping back and forth between thinking that
this was something that just kind of popped up out of thin
air, as they got to the 11th Hour of the process and closed
in, on the moment where
Jimmy, garoppolo's 25.6, 2 million dollar salary when you
include the 17th game, check would have become as
a practical matter guaranteed or whether they did planned.
I feel like somebody in that organization
I was smart enough to game this out
and say, okay here's what we're doing.
Number one,
we're going to wait for somebody to get injured because
that's going to open the door for someone to give us what we
want for this guy. Number two, we're not going to let him
practice, because if he would suffer an injury, that would
end his season, we owe him
his salary. If he's on injured reserve all year long. So we're
not going to let him practice. And then number three,
if no quarterback suffers a seen, a season-ending injury
that results in, in someone giving us what we want for this
guy. And also offering Jimmy Garoppolo the kind of contract
he would take,
then
maybe we go to him
with a proposal. We have to figure out how to do it
the right way. You know, they know Jimmy they've had him around
for five years. We need to figure out how to raise this
with him. How do we raise it? How do we approach him?
How do we make it? Look like it's something that just a, you
know, we were thinking, I mean,
we'd be naive. Chris
To think that the 49ers didn't
as they sat down and came up with a Jimmy Garoppolo strategy
at some point crossed that bridge of
no one wants to trade for him,
no one suffered a season-ending injury to a quarterback
24.2 actually 25.6 two million about to become guaranteed.
What is our plan? See
other than just cut the guy and let him walk away. Way I
I kind of think somebody
had this plan in place
and I think at some point after they got
if not just before they got to Camp
they knew they knew
how this would go.
If a trade partner didn't emerge. Yeah, well I you know,
you know one I you know who it is, you know who it is. Go
ahead, give them credit. Go ahead.
You know, you've written some snarky headlines, about them
some annoying tight, you know, titles that he's talking about.
You think Kyle concocted 100% like parag. Moratti came up
with it, who's kind of the genius behind the scenes in San
Francisco. But
I know he's smart and he is a huge important part of that
organization and I'm sure Kyle's had conversations with
him and John Lynch. But I just,
you know, again, I'm not trying to like Pat,
I just know this human being. This is he's thought out, he's
smart, you know, he's made mistake sure. We know that and
maybe, you know,
you No bungled a few situations. As far as, you
know, we can all speculate about the draft maybe in all
that,
but at the same time, it's it's like
it's all he thinks about it's all he does.
And it's consumed him 24/7.
And he's always thinking of plans and thinking, what's down
the road? I just, I've been with them for a long, long time
and seen how his mind works in life, let alone
in football. So I think this was definitely on the radar,
like you were talking about and they New like okay and training
camp or we're going to be smart. We're gonna,
you know, he's going to practice and get ready.
We're not going to let him play or get hurt and have 200
and the 25 million.
If we get a trade, we like, boom, we go.
And, and then I think organically, as it goes, they start to go.
Well, okay, Trey Lance isn't doing that good. No one's
getting hurt. I mean, what's so bad, Jimmy G is a backup
quarterback, that's great. Yeah. He might be breathing
down, you know, train Lance's neck, a little bit, but to what
you said, so what have you can't deal? That pressure then
you can't buy quarterback in the NFL
anyways. So I think it's was
thought out and then just organically happened
and that's where, you know, again, I know you've thrown
around, Shanahan can maybe be the next Belichick's, he's that
type of thinker. There's no
question in my mind. And you know, me,
I'm friends with other coaches in football.
I wouldn't just throw that out there about any of my friends.
It's something. I kind of believe about the guy here, you
know, he's a football wizard. He grew up in the business is
Dad.
A wizard. So that and then I think like the other thing
that's key to this
that we got to give them credit for here because, you know,
we've gotten on them for other things that he's made mistakes
about
is just the lines of communication. The fact that he
could keep this situation, two major blow up situations that
happen all the time in the NFL, no matter who you are,
but to keep the Debo. Samuel thing, good. And
whoa, it didn't really ever get
Two horrible, even though the guy said he was never coming back
and then to let to have Jimmy G, the guy like you said in
the Super Bowl NFC Championship game, you know, throw them by
the wayside
but yet still keep them there and keep the lines of
communication going honesty. This is where we're at all of
that and now they're back together to me. That's Kiki as
well. So,
that's where I'm going to give Kyle, Shanahan a lot of credit
for the fact of his honesty, his people skills once again,
and I do think that this was
You know, on the radar. If the right steps happen, like,
you're talking about no trade partner, ba, ba ba this
happens. Well, we don't like the way Lance's looking. All
right, well, if Jimmy's willing to take a pay cut, then we'll
keep him here
and it just, it just happened to work that way. Which is
really crazy when you think about it,
and I think the genius of it is and you hear a lot of times
people talk about e.
I not IQ emotional intelligence, more important
than your intelligence quotients the Idea that you
know how to interact with people right way. And I think
Kyle
mean that was his frustration when all the stuff was
happening with Debo Sam. You didn't have an opportunity to
talk exactly bow right. Wasn't responding to him because Debo
new wants his Guy starts talking to me. Yeah, he's good.
He's good wants me to do.
Right? And, and, and I remember saying early in the offseason,
because it played out exactly the way that I feared from
Jimmy garoppolo's perspective because, hey Jimmy, if you
don't force your way out,
This is exactly what's going to happen. I'm going to squat on
you until it's too late on the calendar. If you get cut
for you to go anywhere else and get a good opportunity and get
the kind of money that maybe they would offer you. Hey
Jimmy. You know we love you would love to keep you around
but we can't pay you twenty four point two or twenty five
point six two as the case may be,
here's our best offer and their best offer is better than what
anyone else would give him,
what's he going to do? And that's what happened. And
the big critique I continue to get ya from people. I know around
the league is Jimmy should have brought this to a head
sooner. Yeah, that Jimmy should have rattled the cage, rock
the boat and forced his way out at the start of Camp. He should
have shown up and said, here I am
proverbial bells on
ready to go deal with me
and force them to
area and and here's the other thing, too. And look look, this
doesn't happen very often
but plenty of Agents do this and I apologize if this is
going to be regarded as a criticism of dawn year Carter
chowhound. Ever one of the most important terms, you can have
in a long term contract
that covers multiple years.
When you get to the out years that have no guarantees in them
whatsoever. You put a pooper, get off the pot clause in
the contract at the start of the league year,
a five million dollar payment due
the third day of the league year. 10 million dollars.
Salary becomes guaranteed third day of the league year.
Plenty of Veteran contracts, have that. Now
if you have that in there, what does it do? Chris
it forces decisions or early because the way this played out
Jimmy had nowhere else to go and the 49ers had no compulsion
to make a decision
based on a deadline. John Lynch said it last week deadlines
Drive action in the NFL. We all know that you created deadline
in March so if he is going to be gone,
he's gone to the time.
I'm when he's out there as the teams are making their plans at
the position in the offseason,
not in late August, when the depth charts are set, although
we will talk about this later in the show. The depth charts
are far from, said, Antonio back from multiple teams,
right? But, but at backup,
not at starter. Yeah, you get out there and March, you got
a chance to be someone started. No no doubt. Well this is where
it is. It's interesting to me, you know again,
you know, first off,
he took some of his leverage Away by getting shoulder
surgery so that And it right there, right? So that was his
own doing. He couldn't bring anything to a head. When you
go. Wait, no. I'm going to get shoulder shoulder surgery.
He could have done that if he opted to kind of, wait it out.
And then, you know, played Hardball and then we know that
there was teams kind of interested at that point
calling talking blah, blah, blah. So
when he did that,
I think that ruined everything as far as offseason movement.
And then when you get to training camp, I don't think he
was 100%, it didn't sound like it.
So he would probably wasn't ruling to go. Like wait I want
out of here and want to go somewhere and start off
somewhere new and not really be able to,
you know, do anything for three weeks and go there. I think he
was hey I'm going to buy my time and I think when you
couple that with the fact that at the start of training camp,
Mike and you correct me if I'm wrong here,
you know
Jimmy's you know as far as football is concerned. He's
been with New England and the 49ers. Damn, he's been with
some smart guys.
I think he probably was looking at it going. We'll wait, what
do I want to force my hand to here early in training camp?
What's the, what's worth forcing my hand to go to?
What place is there that I go?
Whoa! I want to force my hand because I want to get there. So
that never came about, and then the trade, and the injuries
that never came about
either. So, you know, it's kind of odd how it played out. And
I think your point is
100% on with what you were talking about with other league
people, but I think Jimmy's Camp himself or Jimmy when he
took back the,
he took back, I guess the power to a degree. Agree as far as
away from the 49ers to not be able to just to trade him
anywhere with the shoulder surgery. But he also took his
own power away to be
able to make a power play and go.
Wait, I'm will final decision right now? I want to be traded
before this date, blah, blah blah,
and of course, that didn't happen. So that's where it's
a really amazing that the time timeline of events and the fact
that we've gotten to this point where we're at right now,
apparently, there was an item in the athletic yesterday that
that
reported
But then revised and remove the idea that Jimmy Garoppolo
deliberately had shoulder surgery when he did to prevent
a trade. And
it's good that they took that out, because that really is
an asinine thought he had power at that time because they weren't
going to trade him. We talked about this yesterday. No-trade
Clause is meaningless.
You're not going to trade Jimmy Garoppolo to a place. He
doesn't want to go. And
if I'm Jimmy Garoppolo, they're going to trade me to a team
that is going to take on the last year at my contract at 5
point 6 2 million dollars,
mean they're not going to come to me and squeeze me in August
to take less money. Once they've given up real value for
the last year, my contract, or they're going to give me a new
contract on the way through the door that makes me happy,
right? So he didn't need to have shoulder surgery at
a strategic time on the calendar to have power
to prevent a trade. He had all the power he needed to prevent
a trade and this idea that if that's even true and it slows
down is preparedness for training camp and all that, no,
no, that that
If that's true then he's just dumb. Well, I'm his agents are
dumb. Well, yes, they didn't need a surgery to keep a trade
from happening. All they had to say is
I'm not touching the last year in my contract, you owe me
twenty five point six, two million. If you trade for, or
like you said we've said during the week, every quarterback
basically has a no-trade clause and just cause I'm not playing
for that team and they're going to go well, okay, I
guess we don't really want you
to know. I think it'll
I included. I thought, well, maybe maybe he is. Is making
a power play here because he felt like he was about to get traded
to some team and,
you know, but you're right, it doesn't really make sense. And
I think the fact too that the 49ers kind of lettuce in
a little bit that like, it caught them by surprise,
you know, I am fell in the Trap. Wait is he making a power
play here with this type of decision, but you're right. It
makes no sense. That he would have done that. And, you know,
you gotta put yourself in player shoes to, right, Mike
where he's going to go.
Wait, I don't want to get traded
and then get there and go. Hey, guys, actually my shoulder.
I need to get that surgery. That's that's just a crappy way
to start your relationship with a new team and no player wants
to be under that pressure. Like that it just makes you
uncomfortable. So,
you know, it's, you know, I think I even went down that
wrong road, a little bit at first, when I heard about
the surgery in the offseason, I will say this though. And this
is a thought that just kind of popped into my brain as we're
having this conversation back to something else. We've said
about Jimmy Garoppolo, he has that George McFly quality where
he's not very good at, Rotation. So
the surgery prevented him from ever being in the middle of this
potentially acrimonious?
No, I'm not reducing my contract. I'll come on, Jimmy,
oh, come on, come on, Jimmy work with this here. He doesn't
get pushed by someone.
They don't have his Jimmy, as a nice guy nature
available to use against him.
If you just go get the surgery then you never have to stand
firm. Yeah. In these awkward discussions and it was and
I feel like that really is Of his personality and I feel like
the 49ers have used it against him.
Jim, he's a nice guy.
Jimmy doesn't Rock the Boat.
Jimmy doesn't like getting into these
hostile conversations. Jimmy, doesn't like to stand up for
himself in these settings. I think that's all part of it. So
the surgery in a roundabout way
saved him from having to be an ass.
He didn't want to be an ass,
he should have been,
he needs agents to tell him when it's time to be an ass.
Because sometimes you know what, folks in all walks of
life, Life and all businesses. You got to be an ass. Yeah. You
got to be a little bit of an ass to get what you want. Yeah.
And and I don't think Jimmy was inclined to do it. So
the surgery was his passive aggressive way of being an ass.
Yeah, I do possibly, I'm here, right? I don't, I don't
disagree with that thought, you're right. I mean I don't
mean he met, you know, again it's something I think
inevitably he had to get done
and he went okay. Why not do it right now?
So I can kind of
maybe evaluate you know
evaluate things around the NFL and I'm not rushed into making.
Decision. Right off the bat, the season just ended. Whoa,
I got well, they want to trade me here, like,
okay. Now you get to sit back.
Yeah, get healthy, trying to evaluate rosters and plan your
next move and, you know, unfortunately, for him, it
just, it never came about as far as the team, the right
situation or anything like that,
but I think he's in the perfect spot
and, and it perfect spot for him for how the everything
shook out. And I think, for the team itself, it's amazing that
they got this insurance policy behind trail. Lance because,
you know, they let go of Nate sud bill that tells you right
away. I mean, the other, you know, it wasn't like, oh, wow,
he's so good too. We want to keep him as a number three,
it tells you, they weren't even that all that confident in him,
if he was that good, they would have found a way to keep him on
the roster to and go. Well, you know.
Hey, Jimmy, you'll be out of here next year. We'd like to
eat sub v a lot, he'll be the backup. So they didn't
the one. It covers the back of situation to it covers the
quarterback situation, the starter,
if things are shaky or
again I'm not trying to put a hex on anybody, but the guy
played in two games last year and got hurt both times like
significant hurt, not like, oh, we just got a little banged up.
Like, woah, his hand got hurt in the preseason and got her
in the preseason to. So, like to the point where, oh,
the game against the Cardinals, the knees hurt and couldn't
practice for a few weeks. Oh, plays against the Texans
hurts his hand couldn't really throw for a few weeks,
the right way. So, you know, that that is where,
you know, though. Careful planning the communication by
Shanahan
sure. Maybe a little luck or misfortune,
This moves by you know, Garoppolo helped out, whatever else but
I do give Kyle a lot of credit and I think it's put their team
in a much stronger position than it would be if Jimmy G was
not there.
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