The San Francisco 49ers seem to want to go into the 2022 season with Trey Lance as the starting quarterback. The future of Jimmy Garoppolo, on the other hand, is completely open.

Munich / San Francisco – The roles are clearly distributed for the San Francisco 49es.

Trey Lance, the No. 3 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, is the future of the franchise, Jimmy Garoppolo the runaway model.

Garoppolo led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game last season, but was often unconvincing and is entering the final year of his contract.

In his six appearances (two of them as a starter), Lance at least showed some good approaches. The logical question is: When will the changing of the guard take place?

According to Jeremy Fowler of “ESPN”, this could be the case as early as 2022: “I’m told he’s gotten indications from the team that he’s going to be No. 1 next year.”

However, it is not yet possible to predict what will happen with Garoppolo. “That could potentially change the dynamic. But for now, Lance will be the starter,” Fowlers said.

Garoppolo will earn $25.5 million in the final year of his contract before becoming a free agent in 2023. It’s safe to assume the 49ers would love to give up their expensive playmaker. However, this is proving difficult.

“The market hasn’t been overly hot right now, especially with Garoppolo’s shoulder surgery,” Fowler admits. “Teams don’t know when he’ll be able to pitch. It might not be until late summer. Will he even pass the medical? Those are questions teams are asking right now.”

Surgery prevented trade of Garoppolo

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of league bosses in Florida that a trade of Garoppolo was already close: “We were trying to make a move and get some draft picks – and were pretty close. But the intervention changed things.”

A trade would have been a good option “because we think Trey can be the starter. We’re willing to do that.” Nevertheless, Garoppolo would not be sold short: “We’re not going to get rid of Jimmy just to get rid of him. “