49ers poised to trade Jimmy Garoppolo during training camp?

After showing up and then leaving training camp, signs are pointing to the 49ers aggressively trying to trade Jimmy Garoppolo sooner than later.

The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of respect for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

And yet they’re trying to show him the door at the same time, opening the door for second-year signal-caller Trey Lance to be the unquestioned starter going forward.

If you had any doubts as to whether or not the Niners were going to go this route, head coach Kyle Shanahan had the answer for you during his opening press conference from training camp:

"This is Trey’s team and that’s nothing against Jimmy, we made that decision a year ago and we’re going with that and we’re not going to mess around with that anymore. And I don’t think we really have messed around with that much, but once we made that decision, we did. And Jimmy understands that fully."

Garoppolo was in attendance for the opening day of training camp, July 26, but that was only a report-do day and the date which Garoppolo conducted his team physical.

By passing it, San Francisco is now absolved of the $7.5 million injury guarantee it would have had to pay if Garoppolo was released prior to clearing the physical in the wake of his offseason shoulder surgery.

Yet that’s not likely the 49ers’ intent, not now at least.

49ers aiming to trade Jimmy Garoppolo during training camp

The Niners began practices on Wednesday, and Shanahan again met with the media to break down Garoppolo’s situation.

“He was in this morning doing his throwing program,” Shanahan told reporters. “I don’t think he’s still here. So, he came in, did that and got out. I’ll stay in communication with Jimmy.”

This effectively means San Francisco has excused Garoppolo from practices, putting more of the emphasis on Lance being the unquestioned starter going forward.

But it also opens up the door for a quicker resolution on the trade market.

Granted, the offseason quarterbacking market has largely settled, the last major transaction being the Cleveland Browns shipping off Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers. However, additional reports have surfaced saying teams are still inquiring about Garoppolo ahead of the regular season, including the Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins.

Exactly how much interest these teams have is anyone’s guess, and there are likely to be some obstacles in trying to move the quarterback’s $24.2 million base salary. Yet Garoppolo’s camp reportedly received permission to seek out a trade already, and all the signs suggest both sides want a resolution as soon as possible.

More from Shanahan’s opening presser:

"I think everybody wants everything as fast as possible. Everyone doesn’t like to be in the holding pattern. We don’t, he doesn’t, so yeah, as soon as we can, but that involves another team and it working out somewhere Jimmy wants to go. And hopefully with everyone being on the same page and open to all the dialogue and the same with other teams, hopefully that will happen sooner than later."

Related Story: Rethinking 4 teams that could trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

When will 49ers trade Jimmy Garoppolo?

The 49ers effectively excusing Garoppolo from training camp doesn’t automatically suggest a trade is imminent. Remember, another team would have to be in play here, and the Niners have repeatedly said they don’t want to simply give him away.

However, what’s likely taking place right now behind closed doors are the negotiations between Garoppolo’s agents, other teams that might be interested and San Francisco, too, trying to work out the best solution for all parties, as Shanahan pointed out.

From that vantage point, it’s possible the 49ers announce a trade within the next couple of days, or it could stretch out into the preseason.

Either way, it doesn’t appear as if the Niners want this to linger much longer than that.