Kyle Shanahan’s morbid answer to Jimmy Garoppolo question speaks volumes

Kyle Shanahan may as well have shouted from the rooftops that Jimmy Garoppolo’s days with the 49ers are numbered, given his morbid response to a question.

Somewhere in San Francisco, Jimmy Garoppolo is staring at his phone with wide eyes, shaking his head after reading his head coach’s latest comments.

There’s really no other response to Kyle Shanahan’s morbid and telling answer about the future of his current starting quarterback.

Asked if he could guarantee Garoppolo would still be on the roster after the draft, Shanahan gave an unbelievable answer.

“I can’t guarantee if anyone in the world will be alive on Sunday,” Shanahan said, per Benjamin Solak of The Draft Network.

First, yikes.

Second, what was Shanahan thinking?

Kyle Shanahan had the worst possible answer on Jimmy Garoppolo

Everyone and their mother knows the 49ers traded up to No. 3 in the draft to take a quarterback to replace Garoppolo. That doesn’t mean the head coach should telegraph that fact with a statement about life and death.

Even if San Francisco is in the middle of trade negotiations to send Garoppolo elsewhere, there are a million other ways Shanahan could have handled the question, preferably by not telegraphing to potential trade partners that the 49ers have no interest in keeping the veteran quarterback around.

Example No. 1: ‘Even if we take a quarterback in the draft, we see Jimmy as integral to our plans for 2021.”

Sure, that might be bending the truth, but at least it’s playing it safe.

Example No. 2: ‘I’m not in the business of making guarantees. Jimmy’s our quarterback until competition says otherwise.”

It’s not that hard.

The 49ers better have a trade in place for Garoppolo sooner than later because no one will want to see him play for a team that has so thoroughly given up on him. And whoever San Francisco drafts better be ready to go because it doesn’t look like Garoppolo will be around to keep them from being thrown into the fire straight away.