49ers keeping quarterback plans under wraps

SANTA CLARA - Before completing the trade for Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers general manager John Lynch and Garoppolo’s agent, Don Yee, did not discuss whether the quarterback was open to signing a long-term contract extension with the 49ers. Lynch confirmed to local reporters during an informal press conference in the 49ers media room Tuesday afternoon that at the time of Garoppolo’s trade, they did not discuss a contract extension.

“We felt like in any event, we had some options as it pertained to that,” Lynch said. “The conversation (with Garoppolo’s former team, the New England Patriots) was one that required making a fairly quick decision. We felt like it was a really good opportunity, and that we could figure (the contract extension) out.”

When Lynch said the 49ers had “options,” did he mean the team can keep Garoppolo with the expensive, one-year franchise tag?

“Just options,” Lynch said with a coy smile.

Lynch traded for Garoppolo on Oct. 30 - the day before the NFL’s trade deadline. The trade did not include a contract extension for Garoppolo, who is scheduled to be a free agent during the offseason.

Four days after the 49ers acquired Garoppolo, former 49ers GM Scot McCloughan told The Press Democrat he felt positively about the trade from the 49ers’ viewpoint, but based his positivity on the assumption the 49ers and Yee had discussed Garoppolo’s willingness to sign a long-term deal before making the trade.

“There’s always a conversation prior to (a trade),” McCloughan said. “Always. I guarantee they had that conversation. It’s a five-minute conversation at most. It could be two minutes.

“First thing you do when you start trade talk, you say, ‘OK, can I talk to the agent?’ Whoever you’re trading with, they’ll give permission for you to talk with the agent. Then you call the agent and say, ‘Listen, we plan on doing this. We plan on making a trade. But we need to know the prospects going forward. How are we going to do this deal? We need a long-term deal because we’re giving up great compensation for him and we want him here.’ Then the agent talks to the kid, the agent calls back and now the ball is rolling.

“If all of a sudden Don said, ‘Listen, you guys haven’t won a game yet, Jimmy doesn’t want to be there,’ you’d be like, OK, good to know.”

During Lynch’s Monday meeting with Bay Area reporters, he wouldn’t say whether he and Garoppolo’s agent have begun negotiating a contract extension for the quarterback.

“On contract extensions and all that, we are not going to do that publicly,” Lynch said. “We’re not going to talk about all those things specific to each player. I will tell you that there are players that we’re talking to their representatives. But I’m not getting into who, when and why - all those things. I think Jimmy is the same way. We’ve obviously thought about that a lot, particularly in his situation, did so when the situation arose and we continue to.”

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Garoppolo’s future, Lynch said he feels Garoppolo is “certainly” the 49ers’ franchise quarterback. Lynch has been particularly impressed with Garoppolo’s work ethic, intangibles and skill set, he said.

“Of course with as little as he has played, some of this is projection and we understand that,” Lynch said. “But, we felt very comfortable, (49ers head coach) Kyle (Shanahan) having studied him in college, we having studied him together this offseason. There’s a lot that we liked.”

Lynch declined to announce if Garoppolo will make his 49ers debut this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. “That’s Kyle’s decision,” Lynch said. “You guys can talk to him.”

But Lynch did say it’s “likely” rookie C.J. Beathard, not Garoppolo, will start on Sunday.

“I feel (Garoppolo is) going to be our guy,” Lynch said. “You watch the way Beathard played the other day, he looked like he could be the guy. I think that’s a good issue. Feel like we’ve got a great quarterback room. We also realize we’ve got to grow around them. We’ve got to continue to put pieces in place. And we will.”

NOTES

The 49ers waived defensive lineman Datone Jones, whom they signed to a one-year contract on October 24.

With Jones off the team, the 49ers have an extra roster spot, which they most likely will give to defensive lineman Tank Carradine. The 49ers can activate him off the injured reserve list this week.

Lynch said he hopes left tackle Joe Staley and right tackle Trent Brown will be “cornerstones” of the 49ers’ offensive line for a long time. Staley is signed through 2019 and Brown is signed through 2018.