Kyle Shanahan ‘shocked’ Niners got Jimmy Garoppolo back

Jimmy Garoppolo is a San Francisco 49er for another season.

Garoppolo committed to stay in the Bay Area after accepting significantly reduced pay Monday, agreeing to terms on a one-year $7 million deal that pales in comparison to the $24 million he was owed previously.

And though Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan is stoked to have his backup QB back in the building, he was admittedly weary that a deal between the two might not come to fruition.

“That’s why we didn’t have him in meetings,” Shanahan said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “That’s why we didn’t put him on the practice field, because we nor Jimmy or really anybody else in the league believed what the outcome was going to be.”

Nonetheless, he’s ecstatic that Garoppolo will be around for the coming year.

“There are 32 starting quarterbacks in this league,” he said, “And we believe we have two of them now.” 

In Shanahan’s view, the odds were “slim to none” that Garoppolo would be on the roster come opening day.

“As he saw the other situations out there, and I think it seems like everybody was just waiting for us to cut him before they could see how much they could get him for,” Shanahan said. “But once the last Saturday preseason game happened, and no one got injured, Jimmy thought this was his best situation.

“That’s why we were so pumped because it was obviously the best situation for the Niners. We love getting Jimmy back, but to have him there [practicing] earlier in camp was not an option. … When it was all said and done, even though it was shocking to us, we thought it was a win-win for both sides.”

Shanahan remains confident that Garoppolo’s prior knowledge of his system will carry him through a short preseason, despite him not being present for meetings or practices.

“We have zero worries about him not having a playbook,” Shanahan said. “I don’t have one, either. Jimmy’s been here. He’s been rehabbing. He’s in great shape. He’s ready to go.”