Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers heading into the 2020 season. That much is a near certainty now. There was some doubt about that in the weeks leading to free agency — among the media, at least.
Some felt the 49ers might at least entertain the possibility of bringing in Tom Brady. Others felt maybe Kirk Cousins remained on head coach Kyle Shanahan's radar for the future.
Maybe some of that was true. Maybe not. Only Shanahan and general manager John Lynch know for sure. What we do know is that Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cousins signed an extension with the Minnesota Vikings.
That leaves Garoppolo exactly where he was when all the wild speculation started — as the 49ers' starting quarterback.
NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks joined 95.7 The Game on Tuesday to discuss why there is such a negative perception about Garoppolo among the media. According to him, a lot of it has to do with how Shanahan utilized his quarterback during the postseason.
"The one thing that I know — and I haven't talked to anybody here, so I won't say it's insider information — coaches tell you how they think by the way they call the games and the way they play," Brooks explained. "There's not a coincidence why the Niners played the way that they played in the playoffs. All the run game, the heavy reliance on the run game, not going for it, heavy two-minute drill in the Super Bowl.
"If Pat Mahomes was the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, do you think Kyle Shanahan would settle? So that's what I'm saying. So just use your eyes and connect the dots.
"It's a trust factor that a coach has with a quarterback. If he truly believes in the quarterback, he gives him the ball and says, 'Hey, go win.' Because he didn't play like that in the playoffs, he is letting the football world know we're going to play around our quarterback because I don't fully trust him."
Brooks garnered some attention last week when he said on KNBR that San Francisco might be a good fit for free agent quarterback Cam Newton, who was recently released by the Carolina Panthers. Most fans quickly dismissed the topic. That didn't stop Brooks from including the 49ers in his article for NFL.com examining potential fits for Newton.
Brooks further explains why he sees a fit between Newton and the 49ers. Or, more accurately, why the 49ers might be more of a fit for Newton than the other way around. A lot of it has to do with the potential to learn from head coach Kyle Shanahan and observe behind Garoppolo.
Then, should the need for a switch at quarterback arise, whether that be because of an injury or poor play from Garoppolo, the 49ers could turn to Newton. That option would at least be there, Brooks explains.
"I think it's a win-win proposition," he adds.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Brooks below.