Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
First off, I need to put this out there: I was strong-armed into inserting the final portion of this article by my wife. Say what you want about Jimmy Garoppolo, his looks have generated countless female fans around the NFL.
The Good:
This guy is a winner, plain and simple. He was 19-7 in his final 2 years at Eastern Illinois while throwing for 84 touchdowns. He was then drafted by the New England Patriots, in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft, in the middle of their dynasty, and won two Super Bowl rings as
Tom Brady's backup. The 49ers traded for him at the 2017 deadline, then four weeks later he became the starter and proceeded to reel off five straight wins to conclude the season. His overall record as a starter is 26-8, which is a .765 win percentage. To put that into perspective, the only QBs with a better win percentage (with a minimum of 30 games started) are Tom Brady (.767), Patrick Mahomes (.791), and Lamar Jackson (.800). Jimmy G just wins, baby.
When evaluating his abilities on the field, it's hard to argue that anyone has a quicker release than Garoppolo. When he was being scouted by NFL talent evaluators during his senior season at Eastern Illinois, Sean Edinger, the team's strength coach, recalls a Jaguars scout commenting that Garoppolo's release was
too quick (side note: comments like that make it easy to see why the Jaguars have so much trouble drafting QB talent). A quick release can be a quarterback's best friend in crucial moments like 3rd and 4th downs. The ability to get rid of the ball at a moment's notice gives Garoppolo the advantage to fit the ball into tight areas.
Other key factors to Garoppolo's success are his toughness and leadership. Jimmy has a linebacker's mentality at the QB position and often welcomes contact as a way to get himself into the game. This toughness, combined with his quick release, allows him to hang in the pocket and deliver balls to his playmakers. On top of that, his teammates absolutely love him and can't speak highly enough of his leadership. If there are any questions about team chemistry, simply refer to
George Kittle and his plethora of Jimmy G shirts, along with other team leaders like Richard Sherman,
Kyle Juszczyk, and Emmanuel Sanders (while already a member of the New Orleans Saints) going to bat for him. Leadership can't be overvalued. No throw 20+ yards down the field can replace that.
The Bad:
Jimmy Garoppolo continues to struggle with throwing the ball down the field with accuracy and placement. 49ers' Twitter collectively celebrated on Sunday as Garoppolo completed his first 20+ yard throw downfield this season, and then immediately expressed frustration as well because the ball wasn't accurately placed and led WR
Brandon Aiyuk out of bounds instead of leading him into the end zone. Despite effective deep ball accuracy in previous years (in 2019 he led the NFL in deep passing efficiency, with a league-leading 58.1 completion percentage and 20.3 yards per attempt, seven touchdowns, and a QB rating of 102.6 on long throws), he is currently struggling to reproduce that success and needs to find his rhythm if the 49ers stand any chance of making another Super Bowl run.
Another area where Garoppolo doesn't seem quite as sharp this season is in his overall accuracy. His completion percentage (66.9%) continues to climb after his poor performance against the Cardinals and pitiful showing against the Dolphins, but in film study, it's obvious that even his completed passes are off-target, often slightly behind the intended receiver. Then there are the inexcusable throws, those that are sailing on him, resulting in passes over the intended target, which have led to half of his interceptions. The second interception he threw against New England (the throw to Brandon Aiyuk to end the first half) isn't one that most coaches would be upset by, but it showed, once again, his lack of arm strength and deep accuracy, not even giving his receiver a chance to make a play. Eventually, the 49ers are going to have to push the ball down the field, but the question still remains: can Jimmy do that?
The Gorgeous:
My wife would very much like me to simply say, "Jimmy's chin line," and leave it at that, but it does go a little deeper than just his looks. Being a lifetime fan of the 49ers, I know that there is nothing more beautiful than a 49ers victory. Whether you want to believe it's HC Kyle Shanahan's game plan executed by a game manager or a team unified under determined leadership by its QB1, the 49ers are winning at an impressive rate when Jimmy Garoppolo is on the field.
The 49ers currently lead the league in salary taken up by players on Injured Reserve, and yet the team continues to win and is firmly in contention for another playoff run, which means Garoppolo's chin line isn't the only thing looking good in Santa Clara.
One of the biggest criticisms about Jimmy Garoppolo has been his availability. The quarterback wins football games but has been available for an entire season just once in his career—in 2019.
Garoppolo's latest injury occurred on December 4 while with the San Francisco 49ers. The veteran left a regular-season game against the Miami Dolphins with a foot injury. It was later revealed that he suffered a broken foot and would miss significant time. However, it wasn't believed to require surgery.
That led to the emergence of Brock Purdy, the seventh-round draft pick that took the NFL by storm. He led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game before suffering an injury himself.
Garoppolo remained on the 49ers' 53-man roster through all that. The 49ers
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is on the road to recovery. He underwent surgery on March 10 to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his right elbow, an injury suffered in the NFC Championship Game.
Purdy could return for the start of the 2023 regular season. Although, that is far from a certainty. 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan remain hopeful that their second-year quarterback might even return some time during training camp, which kicks off in late July and runs through August.
The expected full recovery time is about six months, which would put Purdy's return date sometime in early September. Although, it can vary from procedure to procedure, depending on the severity of the injury (Purdy's resulted from
Pro Football Focus named Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs as the NFL's best in its recent ranking of starting quarterbacks. It's hard to argue with that choice. Behind Mahomes are Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Brock Purdy finished last season as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback. He came in when the team lost its second starting quarterback of the season. Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2. Then, Jimmy Garoppolo broke a foot during Week 13. That thrust Purdy into the starting lineup, and he guided the 49ers to eight consecutive wins, all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
Unfortunately, Purdy became the 49ers' third starting quarterback to suffer a serious injury, a
The San Francisco 49ers began OTAs (organized team activities) on Monday. They are required to open at least one session per week to the media. This week, that session is on Tuesday. So we'll likely hear things from reporters after the practice, and even begin seeing some video throughout the session. Coach Kyle Shanahan is expected to address the media, as well.
I can tell by the look in your eyes that you are undoubtedly ready to get some answers to questions surrounding the 49ers OTAs. Keep in mind that most of these questions won't be answered in non-padded OTA sessions, but it's ok to start asking them anyway. So here are five burning questions that we look forward to being answered:
1. Will Trey Lance's transformed mechanics be
