Jimmy Garoppolo is setting himself up for a nice payday next year. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is scheduled to be a free agent, and his market is expected to be much improved compared to this past offseason.
Garoppolo expected to be elsewhere this season, even after his trade stock plummeted following offseason shoulder surgery. With no one interested in a quarterback going through rehab, Garoppolo signed a restructured one-year deal with the 49ers to serve as Trey Lance's backup. The one caveat being that San Francisco couldn't use the franchise tag on him in 2023, allowing him to test the free agent market freely.
Garoppolo entered the season looking to support Lance and do what he could in his role as QB2. However, everything changed in Week 2 when Lance went down with a season-ending ankle injury.
"I think everything that happened with Trey, I think it kind of happened [quickly]," Garoppolo told reporters on Friday.
The quarterback isn't worried about what might happen months from now. The 49ers have a game on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and hope to finish the season strong, make the playoffs, and go on a run. While that will only increase the quarterback's value, it's not something he is preoccupied with right now.
"I'm trying to worry about red zone today, man," Garoppolo said while laughing when asked about what he might be doing a year from now. "No, I'll worry about that at the end of the year. There's too much going on right now, especially in a short week like this. It's been a bit of a catch-up week, so had to catch up on sleep, catch up on our film stuff, but yeah, we'll worry about that when we get there."
Garoppolo is turning in one of his better seasons, limiting mistakes and showing flashes of 2019 when the 49ers reached the Super Bowl. As a result, the quarterback's stock is high among fans and the media, especially with San Francisco riding a three-game win streak. The quarterback's current popularity sharply contrasts earlier in the season when so much blame for the 49ers' woes was placed on Garoppolo's shoulders.
"Yeah, that's the life of a quarterback," Garoppolo admitted. "It's always going to be a rollercoaster. Every season is. No one's going to just be perfect the whole season, but I think the good teams find a way to just be right down the middle during the ups and downs.
"A lot of things are said out there. A lot of people have opinions, but our locker room is steady. I think we have a good group of leaders in there, which plays a big role, and the rest of the guys kind of follow suit, and it's worked out well for us."
