Jimmy Garoppolo has started just 10 games through his five NFL seasons. There still isn't a ton of film on the quarterback. The San Francisco 49ers got a decent glimpse at what Garoppolo could be during a five-game audition at the end of the 2017 season. They, along with fans and the media, were so impressed that the team rewarded the quarterback with a five-year mega-deal worth up to $137.5 million.
Garoppolo's contract was the largest in NFL history at the time. It's a relative bargain now with six quarterbacks earning average salaries more than Garoppolo's. Of course, whether or not the deal is a bargain all depends on if Garoppolo turns out to be the quarterback the 49ers saw at the end of 2017. He struggled a bit last season before going down with a torn ACL.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, during a discussion with Dan "Big Cat" Katz, said he needs to see more before declaring that Garoppolo's name belongs among the list of elite NFL quarterbacks. Florio believes the upcoming season is critical in the continued evaluation of Garoppolo. The 49ers have a potential out on his contract after 2019 and would only absorb a $4.2 million cap hit should they decide to part ways with their quarterback.
"[49ers fans] should be as skeptical as anyone else about the money [the 49ers have] given this guy," Florio said.
Florio, as he has stated in the past, has concerns surrounding Garoppolo's durability. The quarterback suffered a sprained AC joint during his second start of the 2016 season while with the New England Patriots. Then you have last year's season-ending injury during Week 3.
"I just don't understand what Jimmy Garoppolo is at a 100 percent, let alone maybe 75 percent coming back from an ACL tear," Katz said. "That's the part that is completely fascinating to me because you don't know what Jimmy Garoppolo is, period. I'm talking healthy, injured, whatever it may be. The sample size just isn't out there."
As for Garoppolo's five-game win streak to close out the 2017 season, Katz questions the competition he faced during that stretch.
"They beat a really bad Bears team," Katz continued. "They beat a bad Texans team. They beat a couple of teams that weren't trying at the end of the stretch. Jimmy Garoppolo had seven touchdowns and five interceptions, so not exactly lighting the world on fire."
To Garoppolo's credit, while the Los Angeles Rams rested their starters during their Week 17 matchup against the 49ers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, two teams Garoppolo helped defeat, were playing for playoff positioning. Both squads made the playoffs that season and finished with winning records. The Jaguars also had the league's top defense before giving up 44 points to Garoppolo and the 49ers.
"Anyone who's going to tell you definitely, 'I think Jimmy Garoppolo is a top-10 starter, top-15 starter,' you have no idea because he hasn't played meaningful games late in the season and we have not seen what that looks like," Katz added.
No 49ers quarterback discussion from Florio is complete without the mentioning of a potential trade for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who he insists could still be in the picture for Shanahan.
"That's Shanahan's guy," Florio said. "That's the guy he thought he was getting before they did the Jimmy Garoppolo trade."
Garoppolo proving himself to the 49ers and the NFL as a whole starts with the quarterback showing he can stay healthy, says Florio.
You can watch the entire discussion below.