49ers seem committed to Jimmy Garoppolo… right now

49ers setting up for a rookie quarterback contract?

We’ve mostly gone through the facts — the non-restructure for Jimmy Garoppolo along with the big money the Niners are or will have to commit in 2022.

Now, the speculation.

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One of the favored approaches for NFL teams is to build a Super Bowl-caliber roster around a quarterback playing on his rookie contract, which is obviously cheaper than anything Garoppolo or most other well-established veteran quarterbacks get after their rookie deals expire. The Kansas City Chiefs, sadly, did this in 2019 during their Super Bowl run. The year before, the Los Angeles Rams stockpiled their roster while their former quarterback, Jared Goff, was still on his rookie deal.

With both of those quarterbacks eventually signing massive deals, the Chiefs and Rams were ultimately forced into some tough financial decisions elsewhere.

It almost seems as if the 49ers are doing things backward, locking up other roster needs now while not paying the bulk of contract numbers until later. It’s not a bad approach.

Especially if they’re looking at a cheaper rookie in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Re-signing Trent Williams was the key cog here, essentially saving the Niners from having to use their first pick in April’s draft on a plug-and-play offensive tackle. Now, first-round quarterbacking prospects like Ohio State’s Justin Fields, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance or Alabama’s Mac Jones are fully in play for San Francisco.

Even if a rookie QB selected has to sit behind Garoppolo for a year.

This could be the plan. Fans won’t know until the draft itself, of course, but this kind of speculation certainly isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

And for now, the commitment to Garoppolo remains shaky.