Golden Nuggets: NFL annual meetings giving us a whole lot of nothing

Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, March 29th, 2022

John Lynch says he doesn’t foresee 49ers cutting Garoppolo, more likely QB stays in SF

“He’s too good of a player. I don’t foresee that, and I think Jimmy will be playing for us or he’ll be playing for somebody else. He’s too good of a player not to be.”

Dee Ford era nearing an end in San Francisco

“I think we tried to be as patient as possible, and no fault of Dee, he just ran into a bad situation with his back, where he couldn’t get healthy,” Lynch said.”

Rapoport says 49ers still ‘hold a lot of the cards’ in Jimmy Garoppolo situation

“You take a look at his contract, more than $25 million,” Rapoport explained. “None of it is guaranteed. So really, they hold a lot of the cards as far as where Jimmy Garoppolo is going to play in the future and how much money he’s going to make.

San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch says no scenario in which QB Jimmy Garoppolo is released

“Which means the only path the Niners see for a divorce with Garoppolo this offseason will have to involve a trade market that has yet to materialize. On Monday, Lynch offered some insight into that, as well as potential scenarios in which Garoppolo would remain in San Francisco in 2022.”

Dee Ford era in San Francisco likely over

“That’s the most pessimistic the 49ers have been with Ford over the last couple years. Now they’re reaching a point where they simply can’t keep leaning on him.”

Branch: A year later, 49ers’ GM still talking about a future with Jimmy Garoppolo (paywall)

“The takeaways: The 49ers won’t release Garoppolo, they haven’t received a formal offer for the quarterback, they will hope a trade partner eventually emerges and, if not, Lynch maintained this scenario exists: The 49ers would carry Garoppolo, Trey Lance and Nate Sudfeld — three who would count more than $36 million against the salary cap — on the roster.”

Branch: Everything John Lynch said about Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance and the 49ers’ future at QB (paywall)

“Well, what does this mean for Trey? The great news is that we’re extremely positive as I’ve said, as Kyle’s said, on Trey’s progress. This offseason, he’ll have ample opportunity. Jimmy won’t be ready until training camp. And Trey will have ample opportunity, as well as Nate, to get plenty of reps. And we’re looking forward to that process. We hold (onto Garoppolo) because we know what he can do. We know what he means to us. And that’s not to say that talks won’t pick up again.”

‘He’s too good of a player’: John Lynch says 49ers won’t cut Jimmy Garoppolo (paywall)

“Lynch said that one month ago the 49ers were having “real conversations that were pretty far along” when it came to trading Garoppolo, their starter since the end of 2017. Those talks, however, hit a wall when news emerged that Garoppolo needed surgery on his throwing shoulder that would sideline him until July. Lynch acknowledged that many teams that were interested in February found starting quarterbacks in the ensuing weeks.”

2022 NFL Beat Writer Mock Draft: Edge rushers a hot commodity while quarterbacks fall (except for one) (paywall)

“The Minnesota product delivered an eye-popping combine that featured top-four finishes among D-linemen in the 40 (4.53), vertical jump (38 inches) and broad jump (10 feet, 5 inches). That athletic profile is perfect for a 6-4, 261-pound frame in the 49ers’ 4-3 system. Mafe is thick enough to deliver against the run but, most importantly, he has shown to be an ascending pass rusher that can give Kocurek yet another valuable asset.