Jimmy Garoppolo throws shade at 49ers for Trey Lance trade

Now-Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo certainly didn't leave his feelings about the 49ers and the Trey Lance trade unclear.

A few days have passed now since the San Francisco 49ers officially pulled the plug on their high-profile efforts to turn quarterback Trey Lance into a franchise centerpiece, ultimately trading the No. 3 overall NFL Draft pick from 2021 over to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a mere fourth-round pick after just four regular-season starts.

Earlier in the week the Niners traded Lance, there were reports leaked to the press on how he had lost the backup quarterback job to Sam Darnold, who'll now be the primary support to head coach Kyle Shanahan's starter, Brock Purdy. That news took place prior to San Francisco's preseason finale and in the wake of Shanahan saying he probably wouldn't announce the backup until just before the first regular-season game of the year on Sept. 10.

Definitely a weird situation.

Shanahan and general manager John Lynch didn't even speak to the press that particular day, making an awkward situation even more awkward.

One of those who had a front-row seat for the bulk of time from when Lance was drafted to just before he was traded is now-Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the player Lance was ultimately supposed to replace long term.

And it doesn't sound as if Garoppolo thinks the 49ers handled things well.

Jimmy Garoppolo on 49ers' debacle with Trey Lance: 'There've been a lot of weird situations over there'

Garoppolo has been publicly appreciative of his time with the Niners, yes, but he has also expressed a desire to focus now on his time in Vegas.

No longer needing to "speak the company line," Garoppolo shared his sentiments on the whole deal between San Francisco and Lance to Sports Illustrated's Robin Lundberg.

The quotes are, well... provocative:

"Weird situation," Garoppolo responded when asked about the trade to the Cowboys. "There have been a lot of weird situations over there in San Francisco. I'll just leave it at that."

Garoppolo was notably upset when the 49ers made the now-infamous trade up to No. 3 overall in the 2021 draft, as told by Shanahan to reporters not long after the deal went down. That was followed by Lance spot-relieving Jimmy G for certain plays early in 2021, a practice that stopped after a few weeks. Yet the following offseason, as the Niners were attempting to trade Garoppolo but failed, further "weird situations" continued with the quarterback working out but on an entirely separate field than the rest of his San Francisco teammates.

Of course, Garoppolo got back into the starter's role once Lance suffered a broken ankle in Week 2 of his second season.

Read more: Twitter reacts to 49ers' shocking trade of Trey Lance

When Lundberg remarked, "It's been messy," in describing how the 49ers handled the whole Lance situation, Garoppolo agreed and said, "That's a nice way to put it."

Ouch.

Either way, it's probably safe to assume Garoppolo is happy to be free and clear of that entire mess, and he also remarked that he was "happy Trey got another shot," too.

Strange to think both Garoppolo and Lance would wind up on other teams just two seasons removed from that blockbuster 2021 trade.

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