Kyle Shanahan praised former 49ers quarterback Trey Lance on Wednesday for how the young quarterback handled his introductory Dallas Cowboys press conference, but when addressing recent comments by Jimmy Garoppolo, the tone of San Francisco's coach changed.
"You know, Jimmy, the comments are the comments, I'm really not concerned about his comments," Shanahan told reporters in Santa Clara.
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Garoppolo spoke to Sports Illustrated's Robin Lundberg earlier this week, and when he was asked about Lance's time in San Francisco coming to an end, the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback took a shot at his former team.
"Weird situation," Garoppolo told Lundberg. "Been a lot of weird situations over there in San Francisco, just leave it at that.
"But, you know, I'm happy Trey got another shot, man."
San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan shared his opinion on how things played out over the last two years.
“I think anytime you trade up to the third pick in the draft and it doesn't work out, that's a weird situation, but that is the situation," Shanahan said. "So that's what happened. I don't think it's that weird. It's unusual that it doesn't work out, but I wouldn't think that's weird. I think that's unusual. What do you think?”
Garoppolo was seen as the 49ers' savior when they acquired him from the New England Patriots in 2017, and while he helped them reach a Super Bowl, he couldn't get them back to the NFL mountaintop. By the end, his relationship with the franchise was as strained as it possibly could be.
The 49ers drafting Lance as Garoppolo's replacement in 2021 caused much of the angst and their inability to trade him before the 2022 season didn't help matters.
In his interview with Sports Illustrated, Garoppolo agreed with Lundberg's assessment that the last few years were "messy."
"That's a nice way to put it," Garoppolo told Lundberg. "I mean, it is what it is. As a player, you’ve got to make the best of your situation. We're all dealt with different situations, weird situations, whatever it may be. But it's how you come out of it. It makes you a better person in the end."
Shanahan did his best to take the high road when initially asked about Garoppolo and Lance.
"I try not to pay attention outside of here," Shanahan said Wednesday. "I try to deal with the people in here that I have to deal with. And I have felt very good about that. I did see Trey. I was happy watching him actually while I was eating lunch with his press conference in Dallas and Trey is as real as it gets and that's how he talks in here. That's how he is every day. So it was cool to see him handle that the right way and he did seem genuinely kind of happy and feel he's in a good position to move on and do better there."
RELATED: Garoppolo believes Lance still has bright NFL future
Now, both Garoppolo and Lance have found new homes, and Shanahan is trying to move on as quickly as he can, though the questions will keep coming considering how unique the last few years were.