49ers shouldn’t, wouldn’t move on from Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo: 49ers Believe in the Quarterback, Win with Him

Here’s a great stat, courtesy of Fourth and Nine’s Dylan DeSimone: Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers are 4-20 without Jimmy Garoppolo, and they’re 21-5 with him under center.

Competent, capable quarterbacks are hard to find. Just ask the Pittsburgh Steelers, who unsuccessfully tried to find a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger in 2019, or the Washington Redskins, who went through a revolving door after losing the veteran, Alex Smith, to a serious leg injury in 2018.

San Francisco experienced this, too, experimenting with quarterbacks Brian Hoyer, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens between 2017 and 2018.

The Niners’ win-loss marks during that time frame tell you what you need to know. That’s the bottom line.

But the argument goes beyond just the wins and losses. It stretches into the locker room. Just ask one of the team’s senior leaders, cornerback Richard Sherman, who said the team would “follow him into the darkest of dark:”

Sherman could have expressed frustration about Garoppolo getting that lucrative five-year deal after having only a tiny sample size of starts, whereas Sherman had to negotiate his own deal following a 2017 season-ending injury with the Seattle Seahawks, which stemmed from a perennial Pro Bowl and All-Pro career before that.

Instead, Sherman put his faith in Garoppolo and then some.

San Francisco, despite the loss in Super Bowl LIV, boasts one of the tighter locker rooms in recent memory. And that’s not hyperbole, either. Even when the Niners were losing in 2018, there were no complaints or players “wanting out.” None of that.

If the 49ers were to part ways with Garoppolo, one of the team’s most public profiles, what would it say to the rest of the locker room entering 2020 and beyond? Yes, there is the business side of things, which was a big reason why moving on from Jimmy G became an argument in the first place.

But managing the chemistry in the locker room is a big part of that business, too. And the Niners have the means to navigate that side of the business as well.

So if you’re thinking there’s any credence to San Francisco moving on from Garoppolo at any point soon, think again.