49ers' Kyle Shanahan on Jimmy Garoppolo: 'Hard for Me to Picture' Trade in Draft

San Francisco 49ers head coach told reporters Monday that he couldn't "guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday" when asked if Jimmy Garoppolo when asked if he expected the veteran quarterback to be on the roster Sunday following the NFL draft. 

But after the team selected Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick Thursday night, Shanahan had a different response. 

"It would be very hard for me to picture a situation where Jimmy's not here on Sunday," he said, per ESPN's Dan Graziano. "That would be very stressful for us."

Shanahan, to his credit, said the quote about not knowing if anybody would be alive by Sunday didn't exactly come out the way he wanted it to:

He also said that, despite the enormous buzz linking the team to Alabama's Mac Jones and the air of secrecy around the Niners heading into the draft, that Lance was the player they wanted all along:

Lance has all of 17 college starts under his belt for FCS North Dakota State, so the common perception was that he was a player with elite upside and ability but one who was a bit of a project. 

So the Niners can groom Lance for a season behind Garoppolo, giving him time to absorb Shanahan's system and the NFL game. It's the ideal situation for the Niners, who don't have to rush Lance along but were able to get their quarterback of the future (albeit in exchange for three first-round picks and a third-rounder). 

And if Lance overtakes Garoppolo next season, or if the Niners think he'll be ready for the 2022 campaign, they can always trade Garoppolo next offseason. The veteran quarterback is under contract for two more years. 

So the plan came together for San Francisco, and Garoppolo should still be with them on Sunday.