San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admits Jimmy Garoppolo's offseason shoulder surgery has put trade talks on hold while his belief in Deebo Samuel staying has grown stronger since the draft.
The two big unresolved roster issues continue to hang over the Niners, 14/1 to win Super Bowl LVII, and neither situation appears likely to change before training camp starts in late July.
Change afoot at QB
San Francisco made it clear they were handing the quarterback reins to 2021 No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance for this season with Garoppolo viewed by many outside the franchise as not quite good enough to win them to a Super Bowl.
But the ex-New England Patriots QB's trade market quickly disappeared when he underwent the shoulder procedure on 8th March.
Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday that little progress had been made since then while still toeing the party line that the team could keep him on the roster for 2022.
"I expect him at sometime most likely to be traded but, who knows, it's not a guarantee," Shanahan said, via nfl.com.
"It's been on hold when (surgery) happened and when he's healthy, we will see what happens."
Niners general manager John Lynch recently said the team doesn't plan to cut the 30-year-old QB if no trade materialises.
Garoppolo staying on for some sort of competition could be a nuisance to Shanahan - and create further insecurity around Lance's position as he attempts to disprove his doubters.
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Samuel may stay
Meanwhile, Shanahan believes Samuel, who skipped the team's voluntary OTAs, will be present for mandatory minicamp next month
Details of the wide receiver's trade request remain sketchy, but the coach is still positive about the prospects of avoiding a break up with Samuel.
"I feel the same, if not stronger," said Shanahan, who admitted the team listened to trade offers but nothing came "remotely close" to their valuation when he last spoke about Samuel a month ago.
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