Jimmy Garoppolo discusses offseason surgery, return to 49ers

As recently as last weekend, most within the NFL community thought it was a matter of when, not if, the San Francisco 49ers would cut veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo before his money for 2022 became guaranteed now that they have 2021 rookie Trey Lance atop their depth chart at the sport's most important position. 

No team traded for Garoppolo's services before the final preseason game ended, but a shocking report emerged Monday stating that the 30-year-old had agreed to a revised contract that included a pay decrease to remain with the 49ers and serve as Lance's backup. 

Garoppolo hadn't been a full participant in practices and didn't play in any preseason games as he worked to fully recover from the right shoulder surgery he underwent in March after he played with a chipped bone in his right thumb through January. Jimmy G spoke with reporters during an official club media event for the first time since this past winter and explained why he waited so long to undergo a procedure after his thumb "took care of itself" beforehand. 

"I really don't like to get surgery if I don't have to, so I was really in the thought of, 'I could rehab this thing. I played three or four games on it. Whatever. I think I can get through this,'" Garoppolo said, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "After about three, four weeks of that, it wasn't happening; it wasn't working. We were like, 'Alright, we've got to get the surgery.' That's when we made that choice, and I'm happy the way it worked out. I don't think it was the exact way I wanted it to work out, but everything happens for a reason."

Garoppolo added he's "happy with where I'm at" and thinks "the Niners are happy to have me back." Head coach Kyle Shanahan previously called the situation "a win-win for both sides."

"I think things are working out pretty well," Garoppolo continued during his Thursday comments. 

Garoppolo's restructured agreement contains a no-trade and no-tag clause but is also relatively team-friendly and could allow him to join a contender this fall if such a club loses its QB1 to injury before the trade deadline.