San Francisco

With Bold Move for Garoppolo, 49ers Get Two Wins

Now San Francisco has a quarterback it believes in, plus the 49ers can use valuable picks to build the roster around him

The 49ers remain winless on the field in 2017, but general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan may have come up with a significant victory Monday.

The Niners traded a second-round pick in 2018 to the New England Patriots to get quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the young backup to Tom Brady.

Having already moved on from Brian Hoyer (who was first benched and then released Monday) and now rookie C.J. Beathard (who is still expected to start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals), the 49ers accomplished a couple of things with the Garoppolo deal.

First, they acquired a highly-regarded quarterback who could be the future of the franchise. The 25-year-old former Eastern Illinois standout was the Patriots’ second-round pick in 2014 and showed in his only two NFL starts that he has the potential to be terrific. While subbing for the suspended Brady in 2016, Garoppolo led the Pats to two wins in two tries, completing 43-of-63 passes for 502 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions while posting a quarterback rating of 113.3. The 6-foot-2, 226-pounder has spent three seasons being able to learn and prosper under Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, and was going to be a hot commodity entering free-agency next year.

Now Garoppolo will get the chance to show what he can do in Shanahan’s offense over the second half of this season. If he continues to demonstrate good things, the 49ers will have a quarterback they can build around going into 2018 and beyond.

And second, if Garoppolo is their man, the 49ers in next year’s draft can use their top picks – and they’re in the running for the No. 1 choice overall – on impact players at other positions for a roster that needs elite talent.

“We are thrilled for Jimmy to join the 49ers family,” Lynch said in a statement released by the team. “Jimmy is a player we researched extensively since Kyle and I joined the 49ers. I am extremely pleased this came together today and we all think it is a big win for our organization.”

Back when Shanahan was offensive coordinator of the Browns at the time of the 2014 draft, he praised Garoppolo’s skill. In fact, Shanahan has said that his two favorite QBs in that draft were Derek Carr of Fresno State, now with the Raiders, and Garoppolo. He was overruled, however, and the Browns selected Johnny Manziel.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported the 49ers will try to work out a long-term deal with Garoppolo because a contract extension was not part of the trade, but “nothing is close or imminent.” Even if the 49ers don’t reach a deal with him, they could keep Garoppolo by giving him the franchise tag, but Lynch is more likely to avoid that with a long-term contract.

Garoppolo is scheduled to join the 49ers Tuesday and be introduced in a news conference.

The 0-8 49ers will face the 3-4 Cardinals Sunday at Levi’s Stadium at 1:05 p.m.

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