Jimmy Garoppolo deserves a handwritten thank you letter from every 49ers fan.
Beginning the moment Garoppolo landed in San Francisco he has made their team better. Winning the last five games of 2017 energized a previously dormant fan base.
There is no denying Garoppolo had his flaws, however, the results were often positive with him on the field. From 2014 to 2021 the 49ers posted a regular season record of 49-80. In Garoppolo’s 45 regular season starts they went 31-14.
With Garoppolo under center, San Francisco made deep playoff runs reaching the Super Bowl in 2019. In 2021 the 49ers narrowly lost the NFC Championship game. Those happened to be the two seasons in which Garoppolo was able to stay healthy.
The inability to stay healthy was Garoppolo’s biggest flaw. A knee injury late in the fourth quarter of a week three loss in Kansas City sidelined him for the remainder of the 2018 season. In 2020 a high ankle sprain suffered in a week two victory over the New York Jets hobbled Garoppolo and limited him to only six starts.
Even in the two lost seasons, Garoppolo helped make the 49ers better.
Without Garoppolo in 2018 the 49ers floundered their way to a 4-12 record, second worst in the NFL. As a result, San Francisco had the second pick in the 2019 draft, this became Nick Bosa. San Francisco followed that up by drafting Deebo Samuel with its pick near the top of round two.
Bosa recorded nine sacks in 2019 on his way to being named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019. He would better that up by recording 15.5 quarterback sacks in 2021 and being named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. On the other side of the ball, Samuel had a breakout season in 2021 during which he posted 1,770 yards from scrimmage, second only to Jerry Rice all-time in franchise history. The performance earned Samuel All-Pro honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.
Garoppolo’s inability to stay healthy in 2020 led to another poor year on the field as the 49ers finished 6-10.
As frustrating as those losses were, they provided San Francisco with the twelfth selection in the 2021 draft. The 49ers sent that pick along with their 2022 and 2023 first-round picks along with a third-round pick in 2022 to Miami to acquire the third pick in the 2021 draft.
San Francisco used the third pick to select its quarterback of the future, Trey Lance.
Lance will be the 49ers starting quarterback in 2022. The 2021 season was about getting the young quarterback up to speed in the NFL without throwing him to the wolves.
The rookie spent nearly the entire season practicing daily against the 49ers first-team defense, drawing rave reviews from several teammates.
After Garoppolo was sidelined with a thumb injury in a loss to Tennessee Lance stepped into the starting lineup. In a must-win week 17 contest against Houston Lance proved his teammates correct. Not only did the rookie lead the 49ers to a 23-10 victory, but his performance was also one of the best for any quarterback against Houston all year.
Although he will no longer be a member of the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo’s legacy will live on in Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, and Trey Lance.
Thank you, Jimmy.
Best case ever to appreciate JimmyG in the good and the bad.
Come on now Jack. He was over paid and that should be thanks enough. Once he got his big contract he never gave the same effort he gave in those first five games. He spent his firs off season partying with porn stars and came in to camp out of shape. The only only time he came in shape and gave his full effort was this last season when again he was playing for a contract.
He also was given far too much credit for the Niners turnaround at the end of 2017. He was a part of it but not to the level that people give him credit for. The team was far better than its record and was getting comfortable with their new offense..
You are a great analist but a bad judge of character. The same traits that make you a good analist are the same methodical traits that limit your out of the box thinking. So typical of football people.
Utter and complete BS. So stupid it’s laughable.
Will talk is Grant Cohn’s new pen name
Hey Will your qualifications are ?? I’m not going to even address your points.
Jimmy was a huge upgrade in 2017. He has his well documented flaws (Who doesn’t) , but helped launch our current standing as one of the elite teams in the NFL. THANKS JIMMY !
Now it’s time for the second stage -Show em Trey-GO NINERS!
You are talking out of your @ss, Will. So typical of the know-nothing couch rider. Judge of character? Full effort? Ask Jimmy’s teammates what they thought of his character and his effort, then slink away from here with your tail between that @ass.
Exactly!!! Love the Bosa point, without Jimmy G the 49ers don’t get Bosa. So annoying the sustain for Garoppolo.
Disdain *