With Brock Purdy and Trey Lance coming off injuries, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch didn’t rule out adding a veteran signal-caller this offseason.
“We may have to look at the quarterback market, in addition to Brock and Trey, to insulate ourselves from whatever may happen,” Lynch said Tuesday from the NFL Scouting Combine.
One veteran Lynch did rule out bringing back was Jimmy Garoppolo, who spent the past six years in San Francisco, including a Super Bowl run.
“A lot of people want to talk about what we didn’t accomplish with him,” Lynch said. “What I know is we won a lot of football games with Jimmy. I admire, we admire his toughness, admire the teammate that he was. So I know everyone wants to talk about some discourse and all that, but I do believe that it’s probably run its course. We leave with nothing but fond memories for Jimmy. Jimmy’s gonna go play good football for someone.”
Lynch also brushed aside any questions about the Niners potentially wooing Tom Brady out of retirement to play for his hometown team.
The 49ers are a potential landing spot for a veteran backup quarterback after Lance suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Week 2 and Purdy suffered a UCL injury in the postseason loss to Philadelphia.
Lynch noted that Lance, who recently started throwing, has looked good thus far, with no noticeable limp.
Purdy had surgery delayed after persistent swelling in the elbow. Lynch said the QB is set to meet with Dr. Keith Meister, the Texas Rangers team physician, in Arizona again this week and hopefully will undergo surgery next week if the swelling has gone down enough.
The Niners initially approached the offseason with a six-month timeline for Purdy’s recovery. Lynch suggested Tuesday that it’s just a guideline.
“Every player is different, every person is different, so timelines are just that, they’re guidelines,” he said. “We’ll see. The reality is the majority of these are done on baseball players. This isn’t a baseball injury. Even the way in which it happened. Brock’s going to throw, and a 255-pound man with an opposing force hits him. It’s a different injury. So the outcomes are different.”
Lynch’s response suggests the club is bracing for the possibility that, after postponing surgery, Purdy’s recovery might take longer than initially hoped.
Either way, the Niners will likely be in the market for a veteran signal-caller, the caliber of which will give further insight into how they feel about the process of their current young duo.
