Lynch: 49ers were 'close' to Jimmy G trade before his surgery originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
It feels like ages ago, but at one point this offseason the 49ers were preparing to say goodbye to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Following the end of the 2021 season, Garoppolo had said his goodbyes to the fans and the media in an emotional press conference following the NFC Championship Game loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
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Shortly after the offseason began, Garoppolo ended up having surgery on his throwing shoulder in early March, sidelining him until training camp. Understandably, interested teams were hesitant to trade for a quarterback who is unable to throw and Garoppolo's market quickly evaporated.
49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR 680's "Tolbert & Copes" on Monday where he revealed that the team was close to dealing Garoppolo before the shoulder surgery.
"I felt like we were close in some discussions and then the decision was made to have surgery and that brought things to a screeching halt, people just don't do that even with a likelihood that everything is going to be good," Lynch said. "We continue to get calls about Jimmy and one thing we as a group got together (and said) he's too good of a player, he's got a lot of good tape out there. You don't just let guys like that walk out the door. We want to either have Jimmy playing for us which we're all right with or we want him to get the value.
"As for inflection points, once he starts throwing and stuff people will be more comfortable. Then obviously, you've got to let things play out for other teams and part of that was the draft. And just like we're doing, everyone goes okay we just had the draft, then you go back and re-evaluate the roster and see where you're at and obviously throughout the offseason and into training camp injuries can happen as well. Jimmy's a part of us, we're excited about that but I think we all know that Trey's going to get the opportunity to go out there and play. He's gotta earn that but we believe he's in the process of doing that."
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Deebo Samuel's reported trade request added an additional wrinkle to San Francisco's already-complicated offseason. With Garoppolo likely staying put until later in the summer, the 49ers will have their hands busy until then with the superstar wide receiver.
Whenever Garoppolo is able to start throwing again, Lynch and Co. should expect more activity in the coming weeks and months leading up to the regular season.
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