It's clear that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has always had a healthy amount of respect in the San Francisco 49ers' locker room, but what he's dealt with this season has increased that respect to a new level.
Garoppolo was put into a challenging situation this season after the 49ers decided to trade up in the 2021 NFL Draft and select their quarterback of the future in Trey Lance. Garoppolo had been the starter for the 49ers since they acquired him in a trade from the New England Patriots in 2017, but injury issues over that time helped, in part, to push the 49ers to add Lance, even though Garoppolo was the quarterback during the team's Super Bowl run in 2019 and remains under contract through next season.
The 49ers chose to keep Garoppolo on the roster after adding Lance and were publicly adamant that he would begin the season as the starter, even though there was plenty of skepticism on that position coming from the outside. But not only has Garoppolo held down the starting job this season, he's remained impressively professional while doing so, despite knowing there's another player on the roster who will almost certainly take his job...eventually.
Garoppolo's performance on the field (2,937 yards, 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions) along with his deft handling of the Lance situation has led to his teammates respecting him more than ever.
"We do, and I'm cautious to say that because I don't want it to come off like we didn't have the respect for him before," fullback Kyle Juszczyk told reporters after practice on Thursday. "But Jimmy has been an absolute pro about this, and if anything, bringing Trey in here has definitely motivated him and made him a better player. I think Jimmy has been a better quarterback since Trey has been here."
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel told reporters that Garoppolo has been able to maintain his cool throughout the situation by shutting off the outside noise and putting his focus on being the best player he can be.
"I'm very impressed," McDaniel said. "You don't know how someone's going to respond to uncharted territory. There's many different ways that people can go about things like that. I think he's really earned a lot of respect from the players in the locker room especially, that none of that (outside noise) matters. My job is to be my best version of myself. When you can solely focus on that, you have a chance to be your best. That's been the biggest thing that's been really, really cool to watch is a guy that knows we drafted a quarterback high, he hears the murmurs and people wanting (Trey Lance), but he doesn't let any of it bother him. He tries to be his best self. In that, it forces you to focus and really gives you the opportunity to be the best version of yourself."
What will the future hold for Garoppolo? No one knows that for sure, even though it's certainly safe to assume that Lance will be handed the keys to the offense sooner or later. After all, the 49ers obviously didn't trade three first-round draft picks for the ability to select Lance just to have him sit on the bench. Garoppolo has been far from perfect this season, and he doesn't have the type of intriguing multi-dimensional skillset that Lance brings to the table. But his play as of late is a reason why the 7-6 49ers are back in the playoff hunt after a 3-5 start, and it's also why some think the 49ers could even decide to hold onto him a little bit longer than expected. Whatever the 49ers decide to do from here, Garoppolo at least has them in a good position for the time being.
"I think my respect for Jimmy's always been at an all-time high," tight end George Kittle said Thursday. "You can look at any interview I've been in probably the last three years, I get one to five questions about Jimmy G, on 'is he still a good quarterback' and stuff. I wouldn't even call it falling on the sword for him. I respect him. He delivers when we need him to deliver. We all make bad plays, and when you're the quarterback it's obviously magnified because you're the guy controlling the ball. But I think Jimmy's playing really well right now. He's delivering the ball. He's confident in the pocket. He might make a mistake, but it's not in the back of his head at all and he just keeps slinging it. And that's what you have to do in the NFL."
