Richard Sherman: Jimmy Garoppolo will be 'safety valve' for 49ers through at least training camp

Former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman has some familiarity with the San Francisco 49ers, as he spent three seasons with the organization but saw his tenure end before the club used the third overall pick of the 2021 draft to select quarterback Trey Lance. Lance spent the majority of his rookie season as the backup behind veteran Jimmy Garoppolo and may or may not be on track to become San Francisco's starter by September. 

Garoppolo remains on the roster as he continues to recover from the March surgery he required to repair a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder, but ESPN's Nick Wagoner reported for a piece published on Monday that the 49ers will again shop the 30-year-old to would-be buyers once he can resume throwing either in late June or early July. 

"And though the Niners have said repeatedly they don't intend to release Garoppolo, it's still hard to imagine a scenario in which he's on the roster in Week 1, at least at his current $26.95 million cap number," Wagoner added. 

As David Bonilla explained for 49ers WebZone, Sherman said on his latest podcast episode he thinks his former teammate will still be attached to San Francisco a couple of months down the road. 

"I think he's going to be on the team during training camp," Sherman remarked about Garoppolo. "I think he'll be more of a safety valve, and a really expensive safety valve, but safety all the same. I think they're going to give Trey Lance an opportunity to start in ball games. I think they want to see it.

"I don't think he'll play a ton in the preseason, so they'll keep a ton of backup quarterbacks in the preseason. But I don't know if either of them will play in preseason. It's not worth the injury risk to Jimmy G with his cap number, and it's not worth the injury risk to the guy who you want to start." 

Back in late March, 49ers CEO Jed York suggested the 49ers could keep Garoppolo around as a backup, in part because York would "rather over-invest in the quarterback position than anything else." General manager John Lynch later said the team can "foot the bill" and afford Garoppolo's contract for 2022, if necessary.