SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Based on Jimmy Garoppolo’s first two starts, it appears the 49ers might have their next franchise quarterback.

But a new contract for the pending free agent is still at least three weeks away from being discussed, Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.

Shanahan said he doesn’t anticipate that the team will discuss a long-term agreement with Garoppolo until after the season.

For now, the franchise tag remains a possibility to keep the promising QB off the open market in the spring.

“Obviously, we’re very encouraged with how these two games have been,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see what happens here in the offseason when we get together and can assess everything. But I definitely don’t think that’s something he’s thinking about at this point and it’s definitely not something that I’m thinking about either.”

San Francisco improved to 2-0 in Garoppolo’s starts since taking over for rookie C.J. Beathard, winning consecutive games for the first time since November 2014. His 627 yards passing in his first two starts are the most by a 49ers quarterback since the 1970 merger.

Advertisement

On Sunday in Houston, Garoppolo completed 20 of 33 for 334 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 49ers’ 26-16 victory.

He joined Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Trevor Siemian as the only active quarterbacks to win their first four starts after going 2-0 last season while filling in for Tom Brady during his suspension.

Shanahan said he was impressed by the way Garoppolo adjusted to Houston’s defense, which used blitzes to stress the offensive line of the 49ers, who were missing injured right tackle Trent Brown.

Garoppolo was sacked twice and hit nine times but delivered passes on target throughout the game even with defenders in his face.

That kind of in-game pressure is something Shanahan hasn’t been able to simulate on the practice field during Garoppolo’s brief time with the team.

“We learn something every time we play with him. It’s nice to have film, two games to go off of. It will be nice to have more. But we’re still learning him, we’ll continue to learn him throughout the year,” Shanahan said.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: