Jimmy Garoppolo spoke publicly on Tuesday for the first time since the San Francisco 49ers drafted Trey Lance at No. 3 overall.

Garoppolo began his career backing up Tom Brady, which will shape his approach to working with Lance.

"It's kind of coming full circle," Garoppolo said. "You go through this NFL career and you start as a young guy coming in. Tom kind of showed me the ropes. The competition between us was awesome. It really made me grow as a rookie and as a young player. So, that's kind of what me and Trey, we'll mold our relationship into that. But it will happen naturally. It's one of those things you can't force anything. Just let it come as it may."

Garoppolo texted Lance soon after the 49ers drafted him.

"I try to use my own personal experiences and just what I went through, what helped me, what challenged me as a young player," Garoppolo said. "I'm going to use those tools that helped me and try to help Trey out. It's hard to come into this league; I know how it was coming from an FCS school to the NFL. It's a bit of an adjustment, the speed, whatever you want to call it, it's just different. So, whatever I can do to help him, I'll be more than happy."

Shanahan made it clear there was no timetable or definitive plan for Lance to take the starting job and that he expected Garoppolo, who is slated to count $26.1 million against the 2021 salary cap, to remain with the team and continue as the starter.