Former NFL quarterback and current Houston radio host Sean Salisbury joined 95.7 The Game this week, sharing that he views Jimmy Garoppolo as the best San Francisco 49ers quarterback since Steve Young.
Perhaps an argument could be made for players like Jeff Garcia or Colin Kaepernick, who each have more starts on their resumes and the latter of whom led the team to a Super Bowl. But after watching the 49ers quarterback outduel New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees on Sunday, there is no doubt that Garoppolo could be exactly what the team was looking for when it traded for him in 2017 and then signed him to a then-record mega-deal last year.
"This is the best quarterback they've had since Steve Young, period," Salisbury said. "And that may not be saying much in between, but I'm just telling you, this is the next guy in line. And I'm not putting him in Joe (Montana) and Steve's category, but they got him for this reason, to be this guy yesterday, and that's exactly what he did."
"Look out this is the best quarterback they've had since Steve Young."
"Period."@SeanUnfiltered on Jimmy Garoppolo
(➡️@DialpadHQ) pic.twitter.com/4vrKT5TGpK
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) December 10, 2019
Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens joined the "Joe, Lo and Dibs" show on Tuesday morning and was put on the spot. The hosts asked the former 49ers wideout, who played with both Young and Garcia, if he agrees with Salisbury's statement.
Owens acknowledged that his opinion might come back to bite him, but agreed with the view.
"No disrespect to Jeff Garcia and the guys that I played with, but you have to understand and really look at the style of play, and what Garoppolo has done," Owens said. "He's a proven winner, just piggybacking on what he did and picking up on where he was last year.
"You think about a guy like Steve Young, Joe Montana, the quarterbacks that been there for a while. Jimmy G, I would have to agree with that assessment that he ranks up there as one of those quarterbacks. If you think about what he's done, then I have to say that's a fair assessment."
Owens went on to say that Young and Garcia played with different styles, and the team had to do several different things with the latter to utilize his strengths and hide his weaknesses.
"Jeff was more of a roll-out, improvise (quarterback)," Owens continued. "He wasn't your prototypical drop-back, throw the ball down the field 40, 50, 60 yards. So again, when you think about the style of play, and you assess it that way, then I agree with the comments from Sean Salisbury."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Owens below.
