Kyle Shanahan spoke with the voice of the San Francisco 49ers, Greg Papa, during the team's virtual State of the Franchise event this week. The head coach was asked what he sees from his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, who isn't worried about recovering from an ACL injury this offseason.
"I think Jimmy had an unbelievable year last year," Shanahan said. "When you look at him statistically, just percentages and stuff of what he did, he's extremely accurate, kept us in some very good situations, and won a few games for us, too. He had a number of games where he had to come out huge on some 3rd-and-longs, some last-minute drives, and make some big plays that won us some games."
Shanahan noted Garoppolo's improvement from last offseason, to the start of the regular season, and then to the Super Bowl.
"He came up a little bit short," Shanahan continued. "Our entire team (did). But Jimmy was one of the better quarterbacks in the league this year. There's still a ton of room to grow, though, and he knows that. I know that. And to only have one year in this league (as a starter), for him to do what he did, it's very exciting."
Garoppolo completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,978 yards with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during that first full NFL season as a starter. His passing yards total in 2019 ranks fourth all-time among the franchise's single-season leaders. Only Steve Young and Jeff Garcia have thrown for more during an individual campaign.
Added Shanahan: "I can't wait to get started with him this year, and I expect him to get better and better each week."