NFL teams
Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

From his contract to roster changes, 49ers' offseason centers on Jimmy Garoppolo

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Way back on Oct. 29, the San Francisco 49ers got on an airplane after a 33-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and made the long trip back to the Bay Area with an 0-8 record in tow.

While the NFL's trade deadline was fast approaching, it was already safe for the Niners and their fans to begin dreaming about what would happen in the 2018 offseason. Visions of top-two draft picks and lavish free-agent spending were the best ways to forget about the many issues still facing the franchise.

And for all of those who were already looking ahead, there was no debate to be had about what the Niners' top priority would be. After mostly punting on the quarterback situation in the 2017 offseason -- they signed veteran Brian Hoyer as a bridge option and took a flier on C.J. Beathard in the third round -- there was little doubt that the team's offseason obsession had to be finding the franchise quarterback capable of making coach Kyle Shanahan's offense go.

Little did they know as they boarded that plane that the next 48 hours would dramatically alter the future of the franchise and, along with it, the plan for the offseason.

After dealing their second-round pick to the New England Patriots for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the Niners no longer have to hope and pray that Washington's Kirk Cousins hits the open market. Or that USC's Sam Darnold or UCLA's Josh Rosen declares for the draft.

"It's nice because you know we don't have to go into free agency or the draft trying to answer that question right away," Shanahan said. "That's a big spot, and that's where it starts ... . I don't like going into the [offseason] saying, 'We have to get this position or have to get that.' You see what's available and you try to make the best decisions with what there is."

While the Niners know who they want to have as their quarterback now and into the future, they also have a big piece of business to take care of when it comes to Garoppolo. Set to become an unrestricted free agent in March, there's almost no chance Garoppolo will be able to test the market.

Instead, the Niners will work toward striking a deal with Garoppolo on a contract that will likely be unprecedented for a quarterback with only seven NFL starts to his name. But Garoppolo was so successful in his brief time as the 49ers starter that the Niners will begin looking to lock him up for the long term. If a contract doesn't happen by early March, it's a good bet the Niners will use the franchise tag on him, which would allow them to continue negotiating with him until July.

Of course, like any negotiation, this one will be a two-way street. From the moment Garoppolo arrived in San Francisco, he has remained focused on trying to learn Shanahan's offense and mostly demurred when asked about his hopes for free agency.

After Sunday's win against the Los Angeles Rams, Garoppolo offered plenty of praise for his team, referring to the match between him and the Niners offense as perfect.

Asked Monday if it was safe to assume he wants to remain in San Francisco, Garoppolo elected to keep his poker face in place as negotiations are likely to begin soon.

"I like being here," Garoppolo told reporters Monday. "We had a good thing going at the end of this year. You know, we'll see what happens."

In the meantime, Garoppolo's plan is to return home to the Chicago area to spend time with his family before returning to the West Coast. He has said he will split time between Los Angeles, where he usually trains, and San Francisco. Along the way, he intends to meet with Don Yee, his agent, to discuss free agency -- conversations that he says have not taken place just yet.

"We haven't even really got that far yet," Garoppolo said. "I'm supposed to talk to him in the next couple days, get down to L.A., and we'll figure all that stuff out and go from there, I guess."

Even as Garoppolo plays it cool about his upcoming contract negotiations, it hasn't prevented him from regularly making references to himself and the Niners as "we" when discussing next season and how the team can build off of how it finished 2017.

That 5-0 finish, spearheaded by Garoppolo, has already built a substantial amount of buzz around the 2018 Niners before the 2017 season is even complete. Despite his early success, Garoppolo believes he has plenty of work to do as well. He was particularly upset with himself for a pair of bad decisions that led to interceptions in the season finale against the Rams, and also knows that a full offseason can allow him to get a deeper understanding of Shanahan's scheme.

Garoppolo is also aware that he still has plenty of skeptics who aren't ready to buy in because he doesn't even have a half-season's worth of starts under his belt.

"I've heard talks about sample size," Garoppolo said. "I think it's one of those things you can't really control how much you play or when you play, but when your number's called, I think if you make the most of your opportunities in this league, that's what makes good players. That's what I've tried to do in my short time being a starter, and good things have come from it."

And if all goes according to plan this offseason, the 49ers and Garoppolo are confident that even better things lie ahead.

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