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Lynch's tenure as general manager of the 49ers may well be defined by one of the first decisions he's going to face. A decision that could ripple across the entire franchise for years to come.

What to do about the gaping hole on the roster at quarterback.

Assuming Kaepernick opts out, there are a number of avenues Lynch can pursue.

There's the much-discussed reunion of new 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Washington Redskins signal-caller Kirk Cousins. Rumors have been circulating hot and heavy in that regard, with Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network speculating (via J.P. Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic) that a deal could get done as soon as the combine.

"I would not be shocked at all if we saw a Kirk Cousins to San Francisco trade go down at that point in time," Jeremiah said, speaking to San Diego's Mighty 1090 radio.

ESPN's John Clayton also told KNBR Radio that he expects Lynch to at least kick the tires on a trade for Jimmy Garropolo of the New England Patriots, a contract-year passer who shined in limited duty last season.

“I think they will be involved in Jimmy Garoppolo, but I think there’s going to be a really good battle on that one,” Clayton said. “Because I think when you look at the Garoppolo trade, it’s going to be very similar to the Alex Smith trade of a couple years ago.”

If the Niners can make that deal for what they received for Smith (two second-rounders) then it's absolutely worth pursuing. But numerous reports, including from Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, have stated the Pats want at least a first-round pick or aren't interested in dealing Garoppolo at all.

And that's the rub with these potential acquisitions. In addition to signing that shiny new quarterback to a deal in excess of $100 million, the 49ers would be giving up significant draft capital—capital that's sorely needed by the Niners right now.

Let's be honest. This team isn't a quarterback away from competing for a playoff spot. And while Cousins enjoyed some success in D.C. and Garoppolo showed flashes of potential last year, neither quarterback impresses as being worth mortgaging a team's future.

Between contract and compensation, that's exactly what Lynch would be doing.

As Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reported, Shanahan said on KNBR's Murph and Mac Show the 49ers will be patient under center.

“You’re not trying to commit everything to one year,” Shanahan said. "Yes, you want to win right away. That’s the goal of everybody. But you don’t want to do that at the expense of hurting your future. You don’t want to gamble. You want to be aggressive in everything, but you got to do what’s right. You have to build your team the right way and that’s what I mean by being patient.”

That may be why Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee opined recently that he expected the team to add a potential "bridge" starter like Brian Hoyer or Matt Schaub, while looking to the draft for their starter of the future.

In this writer's opinion, that's the way to go. This isn't to say that there's a sure-fire franchise quarterback in the 2017 draft. More that I'm just not confident that Cousins or Garoppolo are good enough to surrender a first-round pick and upwards of $20 million a season to get them.

Whether it's by making the big splash or taking the slow-and-steady route, the decision Lynch and the 49ers make at quarterback will set the tone for everything else they do this spring.

Choose wisely.