Colin Cowherd calls 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo the NFL’s most underrated player

Jimmy Garoppolo has dealt with a fair share of criticism. The quarterback wins games with the San Francisco 49ers. However, his injury history and on-field limitations prompted the team to trade up and select Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick last year.

The 49ers continue to seek a trade partner for Garoppolo. The team hoped to trade him in March, but those plans abruptly paused when the quarterback opted to undergo shoulder surgery.

Four months later, the NFL landscape has changed. Most open quarterback spots have been filled, and the remaining quarterback-needy teams can easily wait to see if the 49ers cut ties with Garoppolo and his hefty salary ahead of Week 1.

FS1's Colin Cowherd doesn't understand the lack of interest in Garoppolo, saying this week, "I think Jimmy Garoppolo has now become the most underrated player in the NFL by a mile."

The host of The Herd laid out his argument point-by-point. First, Garoppolo has one year remaining on his contract, so there is little risk of acquiring him. If it doesn't work out, he becomes a free agent next year. Second, Cowherd notes that a minimum of seven to eight teams after this season could be in the market for a quarterback upgrade.

"Didn't we watch [Garoppolo] outplay Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau? Yeah, we did," Cowherd notes.

Then Cowherd attacked the narrative that Garoppolo can't stay healthy by mentioning that the 49ers quarterback played 15 regular-season games and three playoff games this past season. He also played 19 games in 2019. However, that glances past the fact that Garoppolo played injured in Week 18 and for each playoff game last season. He also missed 23 combined games in the two seasons (2018, 2020) that sandwiched his healthy 2019 campaign.

"This 'he's never available' is nonsense," Cowherd claims. "... He's incredibly coachable. He's an All-Star in the locker room. He was available in 95 percent of the games last year and, in the Super Bowl year, was upright for all of them. And there's no market for him?"

Of course, at this point, no team is going to trade for Garoppolo until they are 100 percent certain that his shoulder is healthy. Teams may even want to wait until the preseason to see how Garoppolo performs after his recovery. The risk is that if the quarterback is injured, San Francisco is on the hook for his entire 2022 salary.

"I find it fascinating there's not a market for Jimmy Garoppolo," Cowherd adds. "... NFL executives, it's one year. It's not all guaranteed. He wins like 75 percent of his starts. Just right over my head. I don't get it."

You can watch Cowherd's entire defense of Garoppolo below.