Getty John Lynch on December 24, 2022 in Santa Clara.
At some point John Lynch was going to answer the aggressive question of if Tom Brady would be considered for the San Francisco 49ers, as the general manager is facing the inevitability of needing to add a veteran to the quarterback room. Lynch also was eventually going to address the future of Jimmy Garoppolo as well, and if the Niners may think about reversing course on the former starter.
Brady’s status and the future of Jimmy G became topics Lynch addressed in his session with the media at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, February 28. Lynch shared to reporters how one quarterback has “run its course” while Lynch revealed he sent a text out to the other regarding his future.
But in the end, Lynch sounds like he and the 49ers are ruling out both quarterbacks.
Lynch on Garoppolo
Garoppolo’s future with the 49ers became murky when head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed he didn’t see any scenario where Garoppolo would return to the 49ers two days after the NFC title game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — which will allow the former starter to walk via free agency as an unrestricted free agent.
Lynch was very reflective of the contributions Garoppolo delivered in the 49ers uniform.
“First of all, with Jimmy, Jimmy has been tremendous for us,” Lynch said to the media. “In our first year, at the end of the year, we do a trade, and Jimmy comes in, lights it up. And a lot of people want to talk about what we didn’t accomplish with him. What I know is we won a lot of football games with Jimmy. We admire his toughness. We admire the teammate that he was.”
He also addressed if there ever was any tensions between Garoppolo and the 49ers — which became another debated topic of discussion following the drafting of Trey Lance and the emergence of Brock Purdy.
“I know everyone wants to talk about some discourse and all that, but I do believe that it’s probably run its course,” Lynch said. “But I think we leave with nothing but fond memories for Jimmy, and Jimmy is going to go play good football for someone.”
Garoppolo’s name has been linked to potential destinations the New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins and Brady’s former teams the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.
Lynch Reached Out to Brady, he Reveals
Speaking of Brady, Lynch did share he reached out to the seven-time Super Bowl winner.
Except it wasn’t anything pertaining to the 49ers, which can help quell the rumors of Brady being linked as a possibility to play for the team he grew up watching.
“As for the other guy, I sent him a text when he retired. He was a teammate for about three weeks at one point, so I sent him a text, just congratulations on one of the greatest careers that I’ve ever seen in any sport. And I wished him the best, so we’ll leave it at that,” Lynch said.
John Lynch shared his thoughts on the 49ers potentially signing either Jimmy G or Tom Brady
Draft, or Sign a QB?
While Garoppolo and Brady the 49ers GM isn’t considering bringing in, especially as Purdy has his offseason surgery on his elbow, this isn’t indicating that the 49ers won’t add to the QB room.
Lynch says they are going to do their “due diligence” in addressing the thin QB room as Purdy has his anticipated recovery period and Lance is returning from his season-ending ankle injury.
“I was in some meetings today where the league discussing potential solutions for third quarterbacks such that we never have that kind of– but the reality is it’s very few and far between where those instances happen,” Lynch said as transcribed by 49ers Webzone. “So, we’ll see and yeah we may have to look into the quarterback market in addition to Brock and [QB] Trey [Lance] to insulate ourselves from whatever may happen.”