49ers Notes: Garoppolo, Brady, Trent Williams

Before Tom Brady shocked the world and joined up with the Bucs, there was buzz about TB taking his talents to SF. For his part, Jimmy Garoppolo says he wasn’t caught off guard by the speculation.

The one thing I can say about the whole situation was Kyle and John were very honest with me the whole time,” the quarterback said (via Matt Barrows of The Athletic). “That’s their job — to put the best team together possible and you’ve got to respect that. So as long as the honesty and truthfulness is there, I respect those guys, I love those guys. And it’s going to be a fun year this year.”

It was an odd spot for Jimmy G to be in, especially since he had just capped his first full season as an NFL starter with a Super Bowl appearance. Still, he says he wasn’t sweating the Brady talk.

It’s the NFL,” he said. “There’s competition. Everyone’s trying to put the best team together they can. And that’s just the reality of it.”

More from SF:

  • 49ers GM John Lynch says he considered trading for Trent Williams midway through last season while tackles Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey were sidelined. If they acquired the left tackle, they would have kicked him inside later on in the year. “We had made a call about it in the last season when Joe and McGlinchey were hurt, thinking, wow, this could be an option,” Lynch said (h/t 49ers Web Zone). “When those guys come back, maybe we play him at guard.” Ultimately, the deal didn’t materialize in 2019. Instead, the Niners landed Williams in April, allowing him to stay at left tackle post-Staley retirement.
  • The 49ers hired ex-Jaguars assistant LB coach Mike Rutenberg to serve as a pass game specialist. The former colleague of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh will help fill in the gap following Joe Woods’ departure to Cleveland.
  • Earlier this week, we learned that the 49ers have forfeited their right to apply the franchise tag to Williams. Initially, Williams wanted his new team to furnish him with a lucrative multi-year deal. Instead, he compromised with the Niners, allowing him to reach unrestricted free agency next year with half of his 2020 salary guaranteed.
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