Kyle Shanahan Doesn't 'See Any Scenario' Where Jimmy Garoppolo Returns to 49ers

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Wednesday that he doesn't see a scenario in which quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo returns to the team in 2023.

Earlier Wednesday, Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that it's a "slam dunk" the impending free agent will not be back.

Garoppolo has been with the 49ers since 2017, when the New England Patriots traded him to San Francisco midseason.

It appeared that Garoppolo would get traded last offseason when the 49ers anointed Trey Lance as the starting quarterback for 2022, but a deal never came to fruition.

The 31-year-old ended up back in the starting lineup, however, when Lance suffered a season-ending "fibula fracture and ligament disruption" on Sept. 18 against the Seattle Seahawks, per the team.

Garoppolo completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns (four interceptions) and 2,437 yards (7.9 per attempt) in 11 games before he was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a fractured left foot suffered against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 4.

Garoppolo shouldn't have a hard time finding a new team in 2023.

For starters, he's coming off a good year in San Francisco, and his injury shouldn't linger into the offseason. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided some good news on that front:

There are plenty of quarterback-needy teams entering this offseason, although some of them (e.g. the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts) are probably best suited using their high draft picks to get a rookie.

However, other teams are closer to playoff contention and could use a solid veteran like Garoppolo to get them to the postseason.

The Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly interested after parting ways with Derek Carr, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated:

The New York Jets could also be in the mix.

"According to sources, the Jets will be looking closely at [Aaron] Rodgers, Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr," Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports wrote.

"They won't limit their search to just those three quarterbacks — and sources stress it's still early in the process — but that's where the focus will begin."

Ultimately, Garoppolo's tenure with the 49ers seems to finally be coming to an end, and a new chapter elsewhere appears imminent.