Jimmy Garoppolo is obviously the type who prefers the focus to be on anything except him. That has been evident from previous seasons, and it was apparent this offseason, as the San Francisco 49ers quarterback remained relatively silent toward the outside world.
Yes, there is a pandemic taking place, but other players have been made available to speak virtually to the media.
To put this into perspective, Tuesday's video conference call with Garoppolo was the first opportunity the media has had to ask the quarterback about Joe Staley's retirement.
Staley announced his retirement on April 25, well over three months ago.
For those interested in Garoppolo's response, he said, "We'll miss him in the locker room. His character is unmatched."
Yes, Garoppolo was available during the team's State of the Franchise event in June, but that was a team-organized event, and the media pretty much observed in the same way as fans — online.
Reporters haven't spoken to Garoppolo — save one conversation with Matt Barrows of the Athletic — since the days following the Super Bowl.
Again, yes, this has been an unusual offseason.
The quarterback was asked on Tuesday about finding a balance between keeping to himself and being the face of the franchise (one could argue that George Kittle is the face of the franchise — but being a quarterback means something) and a spokesman for the team.
"There's obviously a fine line there, but yeah, I never liked to put myself ahead of anyone or anything like that," Garoppolo said.
The media has requested to speak with the quarterback. It never happened.
Garoppolo quipped with a smile: "But, Bob never gave me those requests, so you're going to have to talk to him about that one."
That would be 49ers VP of communications, Bob Lange — the nice and hard-working gentleman who makes all these interviews happen. You've probably seen his shoulder or something during on-field post-game interviews.
"I'm just kidding," Garoppolo added. "No, it was a different type of offseason, though. I don't know. I'm glad I'm talking to you guys now."
