All signs point towards the 49ers proceeding with Trey Lance as their starting quarterback, barring something unforeseen.
But as Jimmy Garoppolo rehabs from offseason shoulder surgery — the timing of which has frustrated the 49ers — he remains on the roster. That surgery, as stated by Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, halted all trade talks. Lynch believed the 49ers were “close” to getting a deal done before that surgery.
That brings us to Tuesday, the second day of voluntary organized team activities. Shanahan addressed the media and expressed that he believes Garoppolo will be moved.
“Nothing’s changed since the surgery, we knew where we were at before that, and then he got the surgery, so everything went on hold,” Shanahan said. “I expect him at some time, most likely to be traded, but who knows. It’s not a guarantee and it’s been exactly on hold when that happened. And when he is healthy, we’ll see what happens.”
It was not a guaranteed statement largely because there are limited, if any, Garoppolo suitors, and it’s unclear when he’ll get healthy again.
Garoppolo is currently slated to have a $26.95 million cap hit, but $7.5 million of his $24.2 million base salary is guaranteed for injury. If the 49ers cut him and another team signed him, the 49ers would still have to cover any remaining amount up to $7.5 million.
Lance, meanwhile, is healthy and has been on hand participating in the early part of OTAs. It appears the shift to him as the starter is firmly underway.