Shanahan believes this is one of the best rosters he’s ever had
Kyle Shanahan wasted no time Tuesday morning putting to bed who will be under center this upcoming season: “We have moned on to Trey.”
No QB controversy
General manager John Lynch said the team met with Jimmy Garoppolo Tuesday morning and had a good meeting. Garoppolo will go through a physical Tuesday afternoon.
49ers’Garoppolo passing the physical could speed things up as far as other teams being interested. Shanahan doubled down on wanting something in return for Garoppolo, making it seem like his release isn’t imminent. Jimmy’s base salary of $24.2 million becomes guaranteed only if he makes the 53-man roster. So, San Francisco has over a month to figure out what they want to do with Jimmy.
Shanahan went on to say that this is Trey’s team and that it’s nothing against Jimmy, and the team made that decision a year ago. It’s bizarre that we have to discuss this, but some out there sisn’tfelt there Jimmy’small chance Garoppolo would be on the roster in 2022.
Transactions and extensions
Aside from signing Robert Nkemdiche, tight end Charlier Woerner (core) and cornerback Jason Verrett (ACL rehab) will start training camp on the active/PUP list. Rookie defensive tackle Kalia Davis (knee) was placed on the Non-football injury.
Shanahan said Mike McGlinchey, Javon Kinlaw, and Azeez Al-Shaair are all cleared to practice, but the team will ease each player back in. Don’t be surprised to see plenty of rest days for the trio.
The expectation is that Dee Ford will be released this week, per Lynch. He said the league is going through some transactional things but wouldn’t add anything else. Nkemdiche would likely take the roster spot of Ford.
Deebo Samuel reported to training camp. By the sounds of it, a deal could be done sooner than later. Lynch said, “hopefully, in the near future, we can announce something that’s exciting for everyone involved.” Lynch added that the 49ers are focused on ‘getting something done.’
Samuel building a rapport with Lance is critical, and it’d be wise for the Niners to incentivize Deebo to participate as opposed to running along the side without a new contract.
Somewhat surprisingly, Lynch said Nick Bosa would likely receive a contract extension in 2023. Why? Well, the 49ers have a fifth-year option they can exercise on Bosa’s contract since he was a first-round pick. If San Francisco exercises that option, Bosa will make $17.8 million guaranteed in 2023.
Lynch’s exact quote: “As long as we’re here, Nick Bosa is a going to be a part of the 49ers, and he’s going to be paid handsomely to do so.”
High praise for the roster
Shanahan said he plans on talking to Daniel Brunskill first, but the plan is for Brunskill to play both center and right guard. Shanahan went as far as to say there would be “musical chairs” with plenty of competition at both positions during training camp. That could be viewed as the 49ers having ample depth or that there isn’t a strong plan. I lean toward the former and acknowledge the athletic quarterback will prop up the offensive line.
Shanahan had high praise for Trey Sermon, who showed up to OTAs and mini-camp “yoked up and in great shape.” The offensive line, running backs, slot cornerback, and potentially safety. We’re looking at some fun positional battles.
Shanahan loves where the roster is as of today: “It’s as good as a roster as I’ve had. I love our team. I think our team is in a great spot to turn it over to a QB who hasn’t played before.” That sounds like a coach who doesn’t expect his quarterback to do a lot of heavy lifting this season — which has been the case for the previous few seasons.