After the 49ers essentially laid off Jimmy Garoppolo this past offseason to move on to 22-year-old Trey Lance, the veteran quarterback is once again the starter under center for San Francisco.
Despite both QBs saying there’s absolutely no awkwardness whatsoever between the two, 49ers legend Steve Young said earlier this week that he senses tension and resentment among Garoppolo and the 49ers.
On Friday, 49ers general manager John Lynch addressed Young’s comments, admitting that the 30-year-old initially didn’t agree with San Francisco drafting a young QB last spring.
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"Jimmy did think we made a mistake when we said we're going to go draft a young kid,” Lynch said on KNBR’s “Murph & Mac” show. “But hey, he's going to be a professional. As for resentment, I don't think so."
After leading his team to Super Bowl LIV followed by an NFC Championship Game appearance last season, San Francisco decided to shift its focus to the former No. 3 pick.
But when Lance was ruled out for the remainder of the season after breaking his ankle in Week 2, the 49ers -- once again -- leaned on Garoppolo to take over as they hope he can guide a championship-caliber team to the Super Bowl.
Given the unfortunate circumstances, things seemed to work out as best as they possibly could for the 49ers. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Garoppolo did feel some type of way toward the team that wanted to trade him all summer and then relied on him a few months later.
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But Lynch refuted rumors that Garoppolo is holding any type of animosity or grudge in the 49ers' locker room.
And after an ugly, strange Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos that consisted of Garoppolo stepping out of the back of the end zone for a safety, another former 49er had a lot to say about Garoppolo's demeanor after the loss.
Former San Francisco tight end Brent Jones grilled not only Garoppolo's performance in his first start of the season but also the way Garoppolo handled himself after losing and dropping to 1-2 before an important divisional clash against the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
Jones blamed Garoppolo for the loss and said the QB was "horrible". After the final whistle, cameras captured Garoppolo smiling with Broncos offensive lineman and his former New England Patriots teammate Cam Fleming.
"You think Russell Wilson is laughing after he throws a pick, steps out of the end zone for a safety and fumbles a ball, and plays horrible and his team’s 1-2 and the reason they lost the game?" Jones told KNBR earlier this week. "It almost looked like he didn’t even care. It was so frustrating, and maybe I was just mad because the game was so ugly.
"If that’s me, I’m running for the locker room. I am not smiling, I am not talking to anybody for a week if you play like that. I just don’t get his disposition, but that was really frustrating. Icing on the cake."
Lynch understands and actually appreciates Jones' concern, but continued to defend Garoppolo and his actions after last week's game.
"Cam Fleming is a guy Jimmy played a lot of football with in New England. I’ve been there before, I think I was as competitive as anyone. When you see an old friend, this is professional football. This isn’t college where the coach tells you ‘Hey, no one smiles or you’re running. You know? You saw an old friend. Cam probably said something that made Jimmy chuckle.
"Here’s what I can tell you. And I’m fine with Brent saying that. Jimmy is a tremendous competitor. I know how much losing hurts, I know how much we’ve won under Jimmy and that’s a lot because just his competitive nature, so I have no worries about that."
Before even being asked about it, Lynch also addressed the viral lip-reading video where Garoppolo appeared upset and yelled something to himself after throwing an interception.
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Professional social media lip-readers speculated what they thought Garoppolo was saying, even though Garoppolo himself said he wasn't sure.
“If we’re all responsible for all the things we say during the heat of battle, then we’re all in trouble," Lynch said. That’s where I’ll leave that.”
Aside from all the noise that doesn't seem to quiet down, Lynch and the 49ers have one focus ahead of their Monday Night Football showdown this week: "We just need to win, fellas."