Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Jimmy Garoppolo being named team captain could be hint of 49ers’ plans

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 9/8/21

The San Francisco 49ers keep dropping hints about how committed they are to Jimmy Garoppolo despite adding Trey Lance.

Coach Kyle Shanahan has been clear that Garoppolo will be the starting quarterback despite Lance’s status as the third overall pick in the NFL Draft. That was made even clearer Wednesday, when the 49ers named Garoppolo a team captain for the 2021 season.

Jimmy Garoppolo has been named a 49ers captain, FWIW.

As for Trey Lance? Kyle Shanahan says "I hope he's healthy enough to be in uniform. That's my hope right now."

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) September 8, 2021

This doesn’t really tell us that Garoppolo will be the starter. We knew that already. It does tell us just how firm Garoppolo’s grip on the job is. It’s very hard to see him being benched in any scenario unless he’s really awful. No wonder he seems so confident coming into the season.

Garoppolo was limited to six games in 2020 due to injury, but he threw 27 touchdown passes in 2019. The job is his for 2021. It gets iffy beyond that, but Garoppolo is clearly entrenched, and there’s no reason to doubt that now.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: