49ers will wait until offseason for contract talks with Jimmy Garoppolo

SANTA CLARA - The 49ers will not begin talks to negotiate a contract extension with impending free agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo until after the season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan made this clear Monday at his press conference.

Since the 49ers traded for Garoppolo on Oct. 30, he has appeared in three games, passed for 645 yards, thrown two touchdown passes and two interceptions, completed 66.7 percent of his pass attempts and posted a quarterback rating of 92.7. His win-loss record as a starter with the 49ers is 2-0.

The 49ers had lost 29 of their previous 37 games before Garoppolo took over the quarterback job.

Shanahan said Garoppolo’s strong start has no bearing on the team’s approach to negotiating a contract with the quarterback and his agent.

“That’s what I was trying to explain I thought was so neat about this situation. Because of (the franchise tag), I didn’t feel like we had to see something here or there. We’ve been able to try to do things the right way, put him in when we felt he was ready, not put pressure on him.

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

If the 49ers and Garoppolo do not agree to a long-term contract extension during the offseason, the 49ers will give him the franchise tag - a one-year contract which will play Garoppolo more than $25 million next season.

Giving Garoppolo the franchise tag would allow the 49ers to learn more about the quarterback before committing to him long term.

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

“I think we protected him very well versus Chicago, didn’t get as many blitz looks. Just worked out to be a very clean game. This game (against the Houston Texans) was a lot different. We kind of had an idea of (blitzing) going into it. It was the first time we’ve had Jimmy that he’s been under duress like that and I thought he handled it very well.

“The Chicago game was a good first experience. I think this game was even easier. I think he had an idea of how a week went, how a game went. I had a better idea of how he handles some situations. I think the game was easier, because he had a trial run before going against Chicago. I think he had an idea of how I call plays and how I go through a game. I had a much better idea of what he was used to, so I think we were both better in that aspect in this game, and I think we will continue to be throughout the year.”

As well as Garoppolo has played the past two weeks, and as much has he has grown in a short time with the 49ers, Shanahan doesn’t attribute all of the team’s recent success to the quarterback.

“I think it’s a lot more than that,” Shanahan said. “There’s no doubt about that. I think Jimmy has played very well these last two games. I think the guys around him played pretty good too, though. I thought we had our best game versus the Giants up to that point, which Jimmy didn’t play in. The other guys played very well in that game, which allowed our quarterback to play pretty well too - C.J. (Beathard).

“I didn’t feel we played very well as a team versus Seattle, and usually the result is the quarterback didn’t play as well versus Seattle, either. I think we all played better versus Chicago and versus Houston, and I think it’s not a coincidence that leads to better quarterback play, also.”

Sunday, Garoppolo will face the Tennessee Titans, who sacked Arizona Cardinals quarterback Blaine Gabbert eight times on Sunday. During Garoppolo’s most recent start, he got sacked twice and hit nine additional times.

Is Shanahan concerned about protecting Garoppolo?

“It’s always a concern,” Shanahan said. “It was a concern going into last game. These three games ahead of us, it’s going to be very similar with some of the defenses (we will face), but that’s part of the NFL. You’ve got to deal with it and you’ve got to figure out ways to help. You’ve also got to know that it’s going to be part of the game, and we’ve to see how he performs.”

NOTES

Left tackle Joe Staley is one of eight finalists for the 2017 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. NFL players will vote to select a winner on December 15, and the NFL will announce the winner Feb. 3 - the night before the Super Bowl. If Staley wins the award, the NFL will donate $25,000 to any charity Staley chooses.

Right tackle Trent Brown may have surgery on his injured shoulder. “That’s something that he’s got to decide on,” Shanahan said. “I know it was bothering him more the week after the Chicago game than the week before, and that’s obviously why he didn’t play (against the Texans).” Brown injured his shoulder during practice on Nov. 26. He has missed two of the past three games.