The Facts: Speaking on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Tuesday morning, GM John Lynch addressed for the first time the speculation that the Niners had strongly considered swapping out incumbent starter Garoppolo for Tom Brady, who grew up in nearby San Mateo and became an unrestricted free agent in March. "When you're talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time with Tom Brady, of course you're going to have some internal discussion," Lynch told Eisen.

Diehards Line:"So of course (HC) Kyle (Shanahan) and I have discussions. We're always into getting better, so you always look at everything, especially a situation like that. But within a day or two, Kyle and I looked at each other and said, 'You know what, we really like what we have in Jimmy.' We love everything that he brings and we really believe it's a long-term answer. I would tell you we're more convinced than ever about who our quarterback is in Jimmy Garoppolo. ..." Garoppolo started every game at quarterback for the Niners in 2019, the first time he'd done so for a full season in his career, and San Francisco won the NFC West division, won the NFC and came up just short of winning Super Bowl LIV. Garoppolo received criticism for his struggles in the final quarter of the Super Bowl as the Niners coughed up a 10-point lead to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Super Bowl loss left some wondering whether the Niners could trade Garoppolo and sign Brady as the final step to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl. The Niners, though, believe that Garoppolo has plenty of upside left, and they've already told him the ways they think he can improve.