The San Francisco 49ers can be confident they’ve found a franchise quarterback, but coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t expect a massive deal for Jimmy Garoppolo in the immediate future.
According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Bay Area, the first-year coach cautioned that he believes the sides won’t strike a long-term contract before the end of the regular season.
That doesn’t change that the 49ers are planning to keep him.
After opening the season 1-10, San Francisco has grabbed a pair of victories with Garoppolo under center. No quarterback in team history has thrown for more yards than Garoppolo did (627) in his first two starts with the Niners.
Garoppolo will be a free agent after the season, so the desire — particularly from 49ers fans — for a contract extension and secured stability is obvious and understood.
However, the 49ers don’t hold the leverage here. Garoppolo’s side should know San Francisco is willing to slap the franchise tag on the midseason acquisition, and it’s reasonable to believe he’ll perform well during the 2018 season. The better he plays in a larger sample, the more money his representation can demand.
San Francisco runs the risk of shelling out a massive contract, but the franchise will have no issue doing that if Garoppolo is as good as he appears to be.