It's been well-known that Jimmy Garoppolo is likely in his last season with the San Francisco 49ers, the first team in his career to anoint him a full-time starter after giving him a then record-breaking five-year, $137.5 million extension following the 2017 NFL season.
Garoppolo has certainly had his ups and downs this season, highlighted by San Francisco's record, as they had a four-game losing streak early in the season before finishing strong with a 7-2 record in their last nine games.
Garoppolo hasn't been shy about his emotions, understanding the magnitude of the situation, given that he is essentially trying out for other teams right now ahead of the offseason.
"You know, it's a fine line [in removing the emotion about my future]," Garoppolo said on Wednesday. "You kind of tow it every day, really. At least I do. You know, there is a lot of emotion that goes into this game, but when those moments, those big moments happen at the end of the game, you really have to kind of just stay cool down the middle."
Garoppolo has delivered 10 game-winning drives in his career, so he certainly has been accustomed to emotional moments over the course of his career, but he has always delivered with class, praising the locker room behind him for easing the situation.
"I think our team does a good job of that as a whole, but yeah, just me and Juice had a cool moment there," Garoppolo said. "It's these guys on the team, I love this team, love the players, love everything about it. It's a good group to be around, fun group. And we want to keep this thing going for as long as we can now."
When asked how much he thought about his future and about the possibility of this being his last ride in San Francisco, the veteran quarterback admitted that there has been a lingering feeling all season long.
"It's always in the back of your mind," Garoppolo responded. "It has been in mine, you know, really this whole season. Just I knew what type of season it was, knew everything that was going on behind the scenes and whatnot. So it was a little different."
However, Garoppolo understands the importance of living in the moment and valuing the opportunity he's earned this season, and understands that the emotional aspect takes a backseat to football at times.
"But, at the same time, it's like you're saying you've got to tow that line because you don't want to get too emotional in those moments," Garoppolo said. "And you've just got to go play football when it comes down to it, but, the human side definitely comes into play. You feel it for a little bit after the game. And I think 24 hours after that, you've got to move on quickly and we've done that pretty well."
Garoppolo and the 49ers head to Dallas this weekend to face their longtime rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, and it won't come easy. ESPN's FPI projection currently has a 64% chance of Dallas winning, but as the second half of the season has proven, these Niners aren't a team to be ruled out.