“Tom Brady made it not matter” - NFL analyst explains goal behind Trey Lance-Jimmy Garoppolo swap

Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo have been amid a long-drawn-out transition since April 2021. Many fans are starting to wonder what the San Francisco 49ers were thinking in drafting a quarterback to replace another who made a Super Bowl in recent years and is still in his prime. One NFL analyst offered an explanation.

Speaking on The Rich Eisen Show, NFL analyst Albert Breer offered his two cents on why the 49ers did what they did to Jimmy Garoppolo by getting Trey Lance:

"I can tell you that for a fact, Jimmy did a lot of great things. But part of the reason why they traded up and went and got Trey Lance is because they wanted to raise the ceiling at the position, and Kyle [Shanahan has] had quarterbacks that are pretty good, not great before."

He continued, explaining how the potential scarring left by Kyle Shanahan's Super Bowl losses has left him with a need to go away from Jimmy Garoppolo:

"And he's been beaten on the biggest stage by great quarterbacks, we think about his own experience and I know that this really has affected their decision making at that position. You know, in the Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator of the Falcons, Kyle coached his a** off for two and a half quarters. And Tom Brady made it not matter."

Breer went on to give another example using Shanahan's time with Jimmy Garoppolo:

"A few years later, he's the head coach of the Niners, they're in the Super Bowl, and the Niners outplay [and] out-coach [and] out-everything the Chiefs for three and a half quarters and Patrick Mahomes makes it not matter. So, a big piece of this was raising the ceiling at the position."

Lastly, Breer said that the head coach is attempting to take a shot at playing the long game:

"And sometimes to raise the ceiling of the position, you [may] have to take on somebody who has a little ways to go, which is sort of the logic that they used to taking Trey Lance where they did at third overall."

Kyle Shanahan's coaching career with and without Jimmy Garoppolo

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According to Pro Football Reference, Shanahan's first big coaching season came after spending four years in assistant roles, starting in 2003. In 2008, he joined the Houston Texans as the offensive coordinator. In 2010, he joined the Washington Redskins, where he famously served with Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur, two current head coaches.

His tenure in Washington ended in 2013, and he landed with the Cleveland Browns for a season. After 2014, he joined the Falcons, where he made a name for himself by helping Matt Ryan get to the Super Bowl for the only time in his career. His work in Atlanta convinced the 49ers to give him a shot in 2017, and he's been the head coach ever since.

At this point, most agree that two games have defined Shanahan's career. The first was the infamous 28-3 comeback surrendered by Matt Ryan to Tom Brady when he was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. Second, the comeback surrendered by Jimmy Garoppolo to Patrick Mahomes one month before COVID-19 triggered the first lockdowns in the United States.