Jimmy Garoppolo had to endure a lot of criticism this past offseason following the loss in the Super Bowl. The national media questioned whether or not he was the answer at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. There was a lot of Brady-to-the-49ers talk leading to free agency. Others wondered if Aaron Rodgers might be an option down the road.
Garoppolo is attempting to return from an ankle injury suffered during Week 2 against the New York Jets. He got back on the practice field today, albeit as a limited participant.
While Garoppolo may not allow the outside noise to affect him, he likely hears at least some of it. Peter King is among those who believe this season is essential for the quarterback to prove his worth to Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers. The NBC Sports writer joined 95.7 The Game on Tuesday and shared his thoughts on why it is critical for Garoppolo to get back on the field soon and perform at a high level.
"This is a year that's really, really important for Jimmy Garoppolo," King told Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky. "Everybody knows that. And this is a year that they need some answers with Jimmy Garoppolo. The only way you're going to be able to see those answers is by him playing football. So, there's not really much to say about that, other than he needs to play."
Garoppolo is in his fourth season with San Francisco. The team executed a mid-season trade in 2017 to acquire him, and the former New England Patriots quarterback started the final five games of that season for the 49ers. The result was five wins.
Expectations for the 49ers were high heading into 2018 until Garoppolo suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Week 3. In 2019, Garoppolo started all 16 games for the first time in his NFL career, leading the 49ers to a division crown and a trip to the Super Bowl.
San Francisco came up just short of a championship.
"If he doesn't play, if he's in and out and maybe gets hurt one more time, I don't know what you do if you're the 49ers," King continued. "I really don't know what you do. But you need to find some answers with Garoppolo this year, and that's why it's incumbent on him and on the 49ers to make sure that he plays enough this year, that you have, at the very least, a short-term answer for what you want to do at that position."
You can listen to the entire conversation with King below.