Jimmy Garoppolo hits 49ers’ ‘weird situations’ after Trey Lance trade

Jimmy Garoppolo has seen a stunning move for Trey Lance before.

This time, as the Niners have sent Lance to the Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick, Garoppolo is in Las Vegas as the Raiders’ presumed starting quarterback. In San Francisco, the 31-year-old kept most of his thoughts to himself. Now that he’s out of the Bay Area, Garoppolo is a bit freer to speak his mind.

“Uh, you know, weird situation,” Garoppolo said. “Been a lot of weird situations over there in San Francisco, just to leave it at that, but I’m happy Trey got another shot, man. Happy he’s getting to Dallas, gets another opportunity. Hopefully things work out there, but it’s a weird league. Everyone has a different story of how they get to places, myself included in that. It’s never a straight line. There’s always going to be bumps in the road, some things that you’ve got to overcome.

“I think Trey’s made of the right stuff. He’s a good dude, love that guy, he’s a brother to me so I’m always pulling for him.”

It’s fair to say Garoppolo has witnessed and been part of a few “weird situations.” The 49ers drafted his replacement while he was still under contract, badmouthed him when it appeared he was leaving and truly slammed the door on the way out. Garoppolo recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that the 2021 season was “real awkward” and “a hard time.” (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) He didn’t go quite that far with “SI Now” host Robin Lundberg. When the quarterback was asked how he thought the Niners handled those “weird situations,” Garoppolo just flashed a smile and turned the question back on Lundberg, who called the team’s approach “messy.”

“That’s a nice way to put it,” Garoppolo said. “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.”

It will likely be some time before Lance gets to show what kind of person he’s become after his own “weird situation” with the Niners. As things stand, he’s ostensibly in the same position that the Niners had him in: a third-string quarterback behind a clear starter (Dak Prescott) and an experienced backup (Cooper Rush). The only difference is that he’s got a new playbook to learn and a new city to live in, and no longer has any awkward tension with Garoppolo.