Jimmy Garoppolo
- San Francisco doesn’t plan on rushing a resolution for QB Jimmy Garoppolo, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
- Rapoport adds the team is prepared to wait all the way until cut day when 53-man rosters need to be finalized to trade Garoppolo.
- Garoppolo is “progressing well” but still has a couple of weeks of rehab before he will be fully cleared to return to the field, per Rapoport.
- As of now, there are no clear trade partners for Garoppolo. In addition to the salary he’s owed this season, there are not very many teams that have a glaring need for a veteran quarterback.
- Rapoport notes San Francisco will hold out for the best possible value, but at the end of the day may be forced to release Garoppolo if a trade partner cannot be found.
49ers
If the 49ers had any doubts at all about giving the keys to QB Trey Lance this season, those were quickly dispelled during OTAs. 49ers GM John Lynch said they were happy with how Lance took control of the team as the leader and with his handle on the offense.
“We got into the offseason, and the thought really was this is going to become Trey’s team. We go through OTAs and all of that, and he really just asserted himself,” Lynch said via the Athletic’s Jeff Howe. “Those decisions are Kyle’s. We obviously talked a lot about it. It was somewhere in there in OTAs when we just felt very comfortable (with naming Lance the starter). It was, all right, let’s do this.”
Lance is still young and inexperienced, so Lynch cautioned that growing pains are to be expected. Ultimately, though, they expect him to be an upgrade at the position from what they’ve had in recent seasons.
“He is everything we thought he was and a little bit more,” Lynch said. “Quarterbacks in this league who are playing for the first time, they go through their struggles, too, so we’re fully aware that those are going to come. But we believe enough in his makeup, what he brings to the table in terms of abilities, but also just his mental makeup, who are you as a person, how are you going to work through adversity. We believe in Trey and all those things.”
- The Athletic’s Matt Barrows notes if the 49ers keep just four tailbacks, it will mean cutting either Jamycal Hasty or 2021 third-rounder Trey Sermon. Hasty had a role as the third-down back last year, but Barrows points out Sermon has improved from his rookie year.
- He adds there’s also a good chance the 49ers try to keep five backs given their history with injuries at the position.
Rams
The condition of Rams QB Matthew Stafford‘s elbow has been one of the big stories so far in training camp in Los Angeles. Both sides have said it’s not a huge issue, and Stafford put a little bit of evidence behind that in practice on Saturday, participating in full and looking just like the guy who helped win a Super Bowl just six months ago.
“I don’t know if you guys were watching, I felt like I could make any throw I wanted to today,” Stafford said via NFL Media’s Coral Smith. “I’m just trying to be smart when I get those opportunities to make sure I can come out here, cut it loose, turn it loose like I did today and go from there.”
While the team still will be careful with Stafford, Rams HC Sean McVay was comforted by his performance.
“He threw it all over the yard today, looked really good, felt good. We’re very much on track with what we had hoped and I think you could really see,” McVay said. “The ball was jumping out of his hand, making all types of throws, and so I think he was trying to show you guys that there’s probably not many questions you can ask him either based on how he felt in the way he was throwing it around today.”
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