Jimmy Garoppolo won’t be the long-term answer for SF 49ers

Jimmy Garoppolo should no longer be considered a long-term solution for the 49ers, who saw their starter struggle mightily in Week 5 against the Dolphins.

The SF 49ers need to start thinking about life after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Jimmy G is a good quarterback. He isn’t, however, a great quarterback. He’s not elite. And he won’t be capable of reaching that tier anytime soon, if ever at all.

Granted, that final category — quarterbacks who can carry their teams on their shoulders — is reserved for a precious few: the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, who are part of this top-tier group.

Garoppolo won’t be entering that category.

True, Garoppolo made his return after missing the last two weeks following a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2 against the New York Jets. And it was pretty evident, despite a relatively healthy crop of offensive skill players around him, Garoppolo wasn’t entirely comfortable. His passes were off target and many lacked the normal zip he otherwise would have had.

Including this, his second interception tossed before being benched at halftime during Week 5 against the visiting Miami Dolphins.

That led to Garoppolo being  benched in the second half of Week 5’s game following his 7-of-17 line for a mere 77 yards, no touchdowns, the two interceptions and passer rating of 15.7 before giving way to the SF 49ers’ No. 2 option, C.J. Beathard.

“You can tell that he was affected by his ankle,” head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters about Garoppolo after the 43-17 loss. “I know he normally doesn’t throw the ball that way, and I think he was struggling a bit because of it.”

Yet there has to be much more under the surface.

“I didn’t think it was good to keep him out there in the second half,” Shanahan added.

And one has to wonder if Shanahan might start having thoughts about Garoppolo’s future with the team, especially if this season winds up being a bust.

“You’ve got to battle through that,” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jeff Garcia said after the game. “I don’t think it was the wrong thing… when things got out of hand, and you throw two interceptions in the last two minutes of the first half, they’re really going to question where your mind is and where your head is at.”

Uncertain future for Jimmy Garoppolo with SF 49ers

In many ways, 2020 was going to be a proving point for Jimmy Garoppolo.

Already facing criticism entering the season after his fourth-quarter meltdown in Super Bowl LIV, the quarterback was already the subject of speculation the Niners would consider moving on in 2021 if he didn’t perform well enough this season.

So, while Garoppolo’s 3,978 pass yards in 2019 — fourth best in a single season in franchise history — should be impressive enough and grounds for a solid long-term future, what’s happened over the first five weeks this season prompts those criticisms again.

Yes, it’s just one loss. And every quarterback, including the likes of Mahomes, Rodgers and Wilson, can have an ugly game he’d rather forget. But in Garoppolo’s case, San Francisco can and likely will consider what the future might be like without him under center.

A lot of it is contractually influenced. He’s set to earn up to $26.9 million in 2021. But with next year’s salary cap projected to drop down as low as $175 million, combined with the SF 49ers already having $166,802,176 in projected liabilities for next season, per Over the Cap, there has to be a rational argument the team makes Jimmy Garoppolo a cap casualty.

Doing so would save $24.1 million against a mere $2.8 million in dead money.

Granted, moving on from Garoppolo would all but mean the Niners’ Super Bowl window would be closed next season and probably at least for a year or two afterwards. And who knows how such a move would shake things up for the franchise down the road.

But if there was a lesson learned from the ugly Week 5 loss, it’s Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t capable of being a cornerstone piece capable of carrying a team to the Super Bowl. Entering 2020, such a statement seemed like a joke. Five weeks into the season, it’s the conversation’s reality.