San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers and linebacker Dre Greenlaw reached a two-year contract extension worth nearly $19 million before Sunday's win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the deal carries more than $10 million in guarantees.

Greenlaw, a 2019 fifth-round pick, was heading into the final year of his rookie contract. After making $4.9 million over the course of his first four seasons, Greenlaw will now double that amount in guarantees alone in 2023 and 2024.

"It's a blessing," Greenlaw told ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "I'm just thankful for this organization, thankful for everything. Just kind of just let some stress off you knowing that if you get hurt, you don't have to worry about much. You just play until you can't play no more. So, that's really the relief that I got."

The Arkansas product proved himself to be an instant draft steal, starting 22 games over his first two seasons before being limited to three games in 2021 due to a groin injury. He has racked up 13 tackles (two for loss) over the 49ers' first two games of this season.

Provided he stays healthy, locking up Greenlaw should be a value contract for San Francisco, which will have a number of decisions to make about the future of players in the offseason. Jimmy Garoppolo's long-term status with the franchise will once again be thrust into the spotlight in March after he took over for an injured Trey Lance on Sunday. Lance is expected to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.

For Greenlaw's part, he said he preferred the security of staying with the 49ers to testing his value on the open market.

"You want to get as much money as possible but at the end of the day, you want to be happy where you're at," Greenlaw said. "You want to be with a good organization, you want the security, you want to be wanted, all that good stuff. So, I was just in the best position of just being here with the organization and there's really not anywhere else I'd rather be."

The San Francisco 49ers lost starting quarterback Trey Lance for the season to a broken ankle during Sunday's win over the Seattle Seahawks, but some within the organization reportedly believe they may be better suited for a Super Bowl run now that Jimmy Garoppolo is under center.

"This is the part no one wants to say publicly, but something several players and coaches enunciated privately in the wake of Sunday’s game—the 49ers are a better team right now with Garoppolo at quarterback than they were with Lance," Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote.

Two sources even told Silver, "I can't say it, but you can."

It seemed almost inevitable when the 49ers decided to keep Garoppolo this offseason instead of trading him that there would be a point this season when some questioned whether he should be the starter.

After all, he is 33-14 as a starter in his career and led the team to the NFC Championship Game last season and the Super Bowl during the 2019 campaign.

Any Lance struggles, which there were plenty of in a season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears, and the questions about Garoppolo would naturally follow.

However, a serious injury to Lance is not how anyone—even those who believe the team is better with the veteran under center—wanted to get to the point that Garoppolo was back as the quarterback moving forward.

The one silver lining is that it is hard to find a better insurance policy than a signal-caller who is familiar with head coach Kyle Shanahan's system. Garoppolo has largely done nothing but win with the talented supporting cast around him to this stage of his career.

He won again Sunday while going 13-of-21 for 154 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions and running for another score. It was a Garoppolo-like performance where he didn't dazzle with any incredible individual plays but did enough to put his team in position to win.

That formula has worked for the 49ers in the past, and some within the organization believe it will for the rest of this year as well.

Quarterback Trey Lance and the San Francisco 49ers entered Week 2 of the 2022 season feeling the pressure after a sloppy loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 1 in which the franchise's young signal-caller didn't play especially well.

If San Francisco's struggles had continued at home against the Seattle Seahawks, the grumbles that perhaps the team would have been better off with Jimmy Garoppolo under center this season likely would have grown.

Well, the 49ers got the win they needed in an emphatic fashion. However, that win came at a high price.

Early in the contest, Lance suffered an ankle injury that ended his season. Now the 49ers will go the rest of the way with a quarterback the team spent most of the offseason trying to unload.

And believe it or not, San Francisco's chances of making another deep playoff run may be better for it.

After leading the 49ers in rushing attempts (13) and rushing yards (54) in Week 1, Lance told reporters that this wasn't college and he needed to be more cautious while running the ball.

"I'm not bigger, faster and stronger than pretty much everyone else," Lance said. "Guys catch up a lot quicker, space is filled, guys close a lot faster, and I have to learn to protect myself, just being in a different situation knowing how important it is for me to stay healthy."

Those words would prove to be prophetic.

While running with the ball on a zone-read keeper late in the first quarter, Lance was stood up by Seahawks linebacker Cody Barton. His right leg folded underneath him, and after attempting to get up it became clear that something was seriously wrong.

Lance was placed in an air cast and carted off the field. In his post-game presser, Kyle Shanahan confirmed the worst-case scenario: Lance fractured his ankle and will undergo season-ending surgery.

Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Trey Lance broke his ankle and will undergo season-ending surgery Monday.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2022

It's a brutal end to a season that began with lofty expectations. Week 1 struggles aside, there was no shortage of analysts who expected big things from Lance in 2022. Lance himself told ESPN's Nick Wagoner before the season that he was eager to show the NFL what he can do and how much he's developed as a player.

"I've had a great offseason and training camp," Lance said. "There's ups and downs to every day, every rep. So I'm learning as much as I possibly can. There's countless areas that I know I'm going to continue to improve on and countless areas that I have improved on as well."

Now, it will be 2023 before the quarterback the 49ers mortgaged their future to draft can take the reins under center. In the meantime, the team has to turn the offense over to the guy they drafted Lance to replace.

After spending much of the offseason intimating that Garoppolo's days in San Francisco were over, the team either couldn't find sufficient compensation in a trade or had reservations about not having insurance behind Lance.

But even after restructuring Garoppolo's contract to bring him back as Lance's backup, Shanahan said just this past week that the Niners might still consider dealing him.

"Just like all players, we'll listen to anybody on anything," Shanahan said to reporters. "That never changes for any player or coach. We'll always listen to anybody."

For his part, Garoppolo said just after the ink dried on his reworked deal that he didn't expect to be back with the 49ers, either.

"[Returning] really wasn't on my mind, to be completely honest," Garoppolo told reporters. "I was training out here. I had to be here, so I was here for that reason. I was just trying to get my body right. ... I felt very confident out there, and I knew that I was ready to roll. I just need to figure out where it was. And things kind of fell into place these last couple days."

Now, the move that some speculated could cause a quarterback controversy in San Francisco could instead save the team's season.

Garoppolo isn't the second coming of Joe Montana. Or Steve Young. His numbers against the Seahawks are, in some ways, a microcosm for his career.

Against Seattle, Garoppolo was good but not great—13 completions in 21 attempts for 154 yards and a touchdown. The 30-year-old added another touchdown on the ground and posted a passer rating of just over 100.

There's a reason why the 49ers traded away three first-round picks to acquire Lance. Garoppolo isn't dynamic. He doesn't have a cannon for an arm. He's not especially athletic.

He's not a Patrick Mahomes or Justin Herbert—a player who can put a team on his back and single-handedly lead them to victory. He's a good NFL quarterback, but he's not a great one.

However, the reality is that we don't know if Lance is great either. Not by a long shot. And while there are some things that Garoppolo isn't, there are also quite a few things he is.

Garoppolo may not have Lance's arm strength or mobility, but at this point in their respective careers, he's absolutely more accurate. After starting 45 games over five seasons for Shanahan, he knows the offense inside and out.

He has played in no shortage of big games, including a start in Super Bowl LIV. He's well-respected in the locker room. He is most assuredly not your typical backup quarterback.

Most importantly for a 49ers team that has aspirations of not only making the postseason but doing damage once they get there, Garoppolo is a winner.

QB wins may not be the most accurate barometer of a signal-caller's abilities, but the fact that Garoppolo has a higher winning percentage in San Francisco than Aaron Rodgers does in Green Bay matters. In two of the past three seasons, he led the 49ers at least as far as the NFC title game.

This isn't a situation where Shanahan now has to throw half the offense out the window to accommodate the limitations of a player who has rarely, you know, played.

Are there things Lance can do that Garoppolo can't? Yes. But Shanahan knows exactly what Garoppolo does (and does not) do well. He knows how to tailor the offense around him—he's been doing it for years.

This isn't to say that Lance's injury was a good thing. First, it was a brutal break for a promising young player. Second, that would just be a rotten thing to say.

But Lance was the great unknown in San Francisco. Garoppolo isn't. We know who he is and what the 49ers are with him. The team is going to run the ball. Play defense. And if the past several years are any indication, they will win more than they lose.

There's a reason why analysts like Peter King of NBC Sports predicted before the season that Garoppolo would supplant Lance as the starter at some point this year.

Lance may well be the future in San Francisco, but a compelling argument could be made even before Sunday's injury that the team's best bet for success in the present lies with Garoppolo running the offense.

Now, that argument is moot.

Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers for the foreseeable future after Trey Lance suffered an ankle injury during Sunday's 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but he felt for his teammate in the aftermath.

"Feel terrible for Trey. I've been on that side of it; this league is tough," he told reporters. "… That sucks for him. Feel bad for him, but he's our brother and we'll pick him up."

Lance was carted off the field with an air cast, and head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters the quarterback broke his ankle and will have season-ending surgery Monday.

As Garoppolo mentioned, he is familiar with significant injuries from his own experience.

A torn ACL limited him to three games in 2018, and he played just six games in 2020 because of ankle problems. He also underwent shoulder surgery this offseason, which may have contributed to San Francisco's inability to trade him when it moved on to Lance as its starter ahead of the 2022 campaign.

For much of the offseason, it seemed inevitable that Garoppolo would be moved as the 49ers shifted their attention to Lance, who they traded up to select with the No. 3 pick of the 2021 NFL draft.

While he is an unproven player, their thinking was he brought a much higher ceiling than Garoppolo, who often managed the game and can't make as many plays with his legs.

Alas, San Francisco's decision to keep the veteran who led it to the NFC Championship Game last season and the Super Bowl in the 2019 campaign has proven fortuitous since he has been thrust back into a much bigger role with Lance's injury.

Garoppolo went 13-of-21 for 154 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions while also running for a touchdown in Sunday's win. It wasn't a spectacular individual effort, but he did enough to win with the talented supporting cast around him.

That is what he has done for much of his career, and he will look to continue doing so with Lance sidelined.

The San Francisco 49ers lost starting quarterback Trey Lance in Sunday's 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks to what is expected to be a season-ending ankle injury, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

With Lance sidelined, most members of the San Francisco offense will see their fantasy stock change—the most significant being veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who goes from being a bench player to a starter.

Garoppolo, of course, is no stranger to starting in the NFL, having served as San Francisco's starting quarterback over the last five seasons.

Sunday's game marked Garoppolo's first real competitive action since undergoing shoulder surgery during the offseason. And while he could have been better, he had a solid outing for someone who sat behind Lance throughout the summer.

The 30-year-old completed 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown, in addition to rushing for five yards and one touchdown on four carries.

Garoppolo will certainly be worth the pickup for fantasy managers, especially with players like Lance and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sidelined because of injury. He is rostered in just 3 percent of Yahoo Sports' fantasy leagues, so fantasy managers in need of another signal-caller should put in a claim for him as soon as possible.

Garoppolo's return will also have an impact on other players, including running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who had 18 carries for 84 yards and two catches for 19 yards against the Seahawks.

Considering Garoppolo isn't a very mobile quarterback, Wilson and even Tyrion Davis-Price, who rushed for 33 yards on 14 carries Sunday, figure to see more work out of the backfield moving forward.

That said, Wilson has been San Francisco's top running back since the season began, so he's rostered in 74 percent of Yahoo Sports' fantasy leagues. Davis-Price is rostered in just 8 percent of leagues, so he might be worth the pickup as a bench player.

As for receivers such as Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk, their fantasy outlook shouldn't change much, especially considering they will be some of Garoppolo's top targets. They also likely aren't available in many fantasy leagues.

With Sunday's win, the 49ers enter Week 3 against the Denver Broncos with a 1-1 record. Considering Wilson struggled for the Broncos in Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, it should be a winnable matchup for Garoppolo and the Niners.

The San Francisco 49ers had trouble enjoying Sunday's 27-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks after losing second-year quarterback Trey Lance for the remainder of the season because of a broken ankle that requires surgery.

49ers receiver Deebo Samuel was somber after the game, telling reporters, "Seeing all the work that Trey put in from last year to this year, it kind of broke my heart."

"It kinda broke my heart." - Deebo on Trey's ankle injury pic.twitter.com/pPH3Vd9OhT

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) September 18, 2022

Lance suffered the injury with 2:20 left in the first quarter of Sunday's game after running a read-option play. He laid on the field in obvious pain before his right leg was placed in an air cast and he was carted back to the locker room. He was 2-of-3 for 30 yards and ran the ball three times for 13 yards before exiting the game.

The injury comes just days after Lance acknowledged that he needed to do a better job of protecting himself while running the ball. The 22-year-old led San Francisco with 13 carries and 54 rushing yards in the team's Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears.

"I'm not bigger, faster and stronger than pretty much everyone else," Lance said on Wednesday. "Guys catch up a lot quicker, space is filled, guys close a lot faster, and I have to learn to protect myself, just being in a different situation knowing how important it is for me to stay healthy."

Lance was replaced on Sunday by Jimmy Garoppolo, who finished with 154 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-21 passing. He also added a rushing touchdown.

Garoppolo agreed to a restructured contract in August that reduced his base salary from $24 million to $6.5 million, but it included incentives for playing time and team success that could raise it to $16 million.

The 49ers will return to action next Sunday night against the Denver Broncos.

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 27-7 on Sunday afternoon behind backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who replaced Trey Lance in the first quarter.

Lance was carted off the field after suffering what is now being reported as a "significant ankle injury," per ESPN's Adam Schefter. The second-year signal-caller will likely require season-ending surgery.

Garoppolo completed 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown in relief of Lance. He also rushed for five yards and one touchdown on four carries.

While Garoppolo helped lead San Francisco to victory, fans on Twitter were not too happy about his return. And now that he's likely set to be the team's starting quarterback for the remainder of the year, the reaction was even worse.

Who did I hurt in my past life to deserve another year of Jimmy Garoppolo football

— Andrew 🌊 (@AndrewTakesWs) September 18, 2022

https://twitter.com/dieter/status/1571624895267864578

https://twitter.com/JayMooreNFL/status/1571625789057282049

We know exactly who Jimmy Garoppolo is. He hasn't improved since we last saw him. He's not good enough. Let's stop romanticizing him.

— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) September 18, 2022

Y’all see this shit Faithfuls?? What you’re looking at now is the same bullshit Jimmy Garoppolo throws. This is what we’re going to have to deal with for the next several weeks!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

— 🈳SKI (@KingSkeezy_) September 18, 2022

I forgot what a roller coaster #JimmyGaroppolo is. He’ll throw an absolutely laser to his receiver, then the next play throw a laser to some invisible player on the field. #49ers #jimmyG #NFL #SFvsSEA

— Ray (@Raysweirdworld) September 18, 2022

The longer the game goes, the more the real Jimmy Garoppolo comes out, not the savior fraud ppl think he's gonna be

— chris (@CheckDownChrxs) September 18, 2022

Hearing Jimmy Garoppolo’s pass was overthrown and Jimmy Garoppolo‘s pass batted down at the line. I feel like we fired up the flux capacitor and went back in time. pic.twitter.com/WzltaFmQn6

— Tim Sprinkles (@TimSprinkles) September 18, 2022

The Jimmy G era in SF has begun...again! #49ers #JimmyGaroppolo

— Chris Cosetta (@ChrisCosetta) September 18, 2022

I’m really about to spend the next 5 months of my life watching Jimmy Garoppolo as the starting QB of the 49ers.

— East Bay Chris (@EastBayChris) September 18, 2022

#49ers fans… hate him or love him. The entire faithful needs to rally around Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s the QB for the #Niners the rest of the way.

— 49ers & NFL News 24/7 (@49ersSportsTalk) September 18, 2022

Damn poor Trey! Jimmy Garoppolo now holds the faith of our first round pick https://t.co/D9hq3DlLi8

— Brandon 🐬 (@Finsfan141) September 18, 2022

Garoppolo had served as San Francisco's starting quarterback over the last five seasons but was benched in favor of Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, entering the 2022 campaign.

Garoppolo has certainly had his ups and downs in San Francisco, but now he's getting a massive opportunity in what can now be considered a contract year for the veteran signal-caller.

If he plays well, Garoppolo could very well find himself starting for a new team in 2023, as the expectation is that Lance will be San Francisco's starter next season.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken ankle during Sunday's 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks, coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters.

That confirms a previous report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, who noted Lance was likely to miss the rest of the season with a "significant" injury.

Lance took over as the team's starting quarterback to open the 2022 season, but he was just 13-of-28 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in a Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears.

He suffered a left knee sprain during his first career start last year, a Week 5 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The second-year signal-caller played sporadically for the Niners while serving as the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo.

In all, the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft recorded 603 passing yards, 168 rushing yards and six total touchdowns across six games in his debut campaign.

Garoppolo should lead the 49ers for the remainder of the season.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle returned to practice Friday for the first time since suffering a groin injury during the preseason.

George Kittle back at 49ers practice and moving well during warmups pic.twitter.com/Z3TltREKDm

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) September 16, 2022

The three-time Pro Bowler missed the 49ers' Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears and sat out the first two practice sessions ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. General manager John Lynch said the team is hopeful Kittle will be able to play.

"We're going to hold out hope that George is ready," Lynch said Friday on KNBR. "We'll see if we get him out here today. I think that's critical. And if that doesn't happen, it's probably not looking good. But George is a type of player that you even wait until Sunday. I did that many times in my career, where you don’t practice all week, you find a way to go test it before the game. So I think it's going to go right down to the wire. He is improving, though, and we just want to make sure we have a healthy Kittle for the entirety of the season moving forward."

Kittle is arguably the NFL's best all-around tight end when healthy. The problem has been keeping him on the field. He's missed 12 games since the start of the 2020 season, and the 49ers are 4-8 in those contests.

Getting Kittle back in the lineup will be critical for second-year quarterback Trey Lance, who posted a miserable performance in last week's rain-soaked loss to Chicago. The weather is supposed to be more favorable in Sunday's home opener, and having his full complement of pass-catchers should give the 49ers a better idea of where Lance is in his development.

San Francisco will be without running back Elijah Mitchell for at least the next eight weeks with a knee injury.

Steve Young knows what it's like to be the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback, and he doesn't envy the position Trey Lance is in.

"Let's not dance around the truth—Trey's got a nearly impossible job," the Hall of Famer told the San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Silver. "How many bodies have broken trying to do that? Death or glory, right? And it's 95 percent death.

"I've got to be honest with you: This job has always been a Super Bowl-or-bust job. Let's admit it: It's a high-wire act for anybody. Trey's goal right now is not to hold the team back."

Young added that the presence of Jimmy Garoppolo "does not change the job" and that Lance or any quarterback is "not gonna make it anyway" if it affects him.

Expectations were high for Lance after the 49ers traded up to select him third overall in the 2021 NFL draft. It doesn't help that he'll be measured against the standard Young and Joe Montana set when they called the Bay Area home.

Montana guided the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles as a starter, while Young was a two-time MVP and led San Francisco to another title in the 1994 season.

Lance won't be considered a bust if he fails to match Montana and Young's achievements, but anything short of winning the Super Bowl will likely be a disappointment.

The jury remains out on the 22-year-old, as it would be with any quarterback in his second year and his first full season as a starter. His performance hasn't provided any clarity. Through seven appearances, he has thrown for 767 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions, and his Week 1 production in sloppy conditions (13-of-28 for 164 yards and one interception) left a lot to be desired.

Now that he's QB1, Lance will have every opportunity to silence his skeptics, but Young's comments underscore the enormity of the task.