49ers GM John Lynch was convinced Jimmy Garoppolo would be traded by combine as two, three teams interested

Jimmy Garoppolo remained with the San Francisco 49ers after the organization couldn’t find a trade partner for him leading up to the 53-man roster deadline. The 49ers did believe Garoppolo would have been traded much sooner if not for offseason shoulder surgery.

General manager John Lynch revealed Thursday that he thought the 49ers were close to getting a deal done in March. 

“What I can tell you with great confidence is combine time, there were really serious talks,” Lynch said Thursday, via 49ers Web Zone. “When I say serious, probably two, three teams that I felt like — you’d have to ask them — this was going to happen. And that’s when that news (of the surgery) broke. Then things went where they went.”

The 49ers decided to restructure Garoppolo’s contract once they couldn’t find a trade partner for him. Garoppolo’s new deal includes $6.5 million in fully guaranteed base salary with a no-trade clause and no-tag clause attached to the deal. This allows Garoppolo to be a free agent and pick his next team in 2023.

San Francisco has arguably the best backup quarterback in football as a result, and an insurance policy in case starting quarterback Trey Lance goes down. 

The 49ers won’t hesitate to trade Garoppolo later this year if the right deal emerges, but that will have to be of Garoppolo’s choosing. A reduced salary certainly improves Garoppolo’s market. 

“The lesser a contract is, the more enticing you always are at every single position to every team,” Lynch said Wednesday. “When I told Trey that Jimmy’s going to come back, he’s like, ‘Awesome. That dude was awesome for me last year. I can’t wait to be the same way.’ 

“So I think when you have a quarterback room where people do like each other, it makes it more fun to come to work, because you are in that room a lot together. And I know those dudes do like each other. They got some different skillsets, so they both can learn stuff from each other just by watching each other. 

“And the more football, the more they are around each other and the more they talk, usually that rubs off, both ways.”