Jimmy Garoppolo might be seeing his starting time with the 49ers coming to a close sooner than expected, meaning there are some key questions to address.
There’s a good chance the San Francisco 49ers‘ Week 10 prime-time matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football marks the last time quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo gets a start in a Niners uniform.
San Francisco, 3-5 and a clear underdog against the highly potent 7-2 Rams, is quickly watching its hopes for a postseason berth slip away. And with each passing loss, the need for the 49ers to focus less on winning this season and more on what happens in 2022 becomes exponentially greater.
Garoppolo knows this. Especially as a lame-duck quarterback, who’ll eventually turn over the reins to the hot-shot rookie, Trey Lance. Maybe sooner than later.
If Garoppolo plays poorly on Monday night, the Niners lose, or a combination of both, head coach Kyle Shanahan might be prompted to make the decision he’s largely tried to avoid over the nine weeks leading up to this game: starting Lance… for good.
Right there, though, is just the first question Garoppolo has to answer in what could be the final chapter of his San Francisco tenure.
Question No. 4: How long can Jimmy Garoppolo fend off Trey Lance
Despite the 49ers’ ugly 31-17 Week 9 loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals, Garoppolo played relatively well, even including his late fourth-quarter interception that ultimately didn’t have an impact on the game’s outcome anyway.
Going 28-of-40 and completing 70 percent of his passes for 326 yards and two passing touchdowns, combined with a solid effort in Week 8 on the road against the Chicago Bears, marks the best two-game stretch Jimmy G has had in a while.
If anything, those combined efforts surely helped convince Shanahan not to let Lance start just yet.
The problem, though, is the Niners aren’t capable of pulling the proverbial load elsewhere, and Garoppolo isn’t the kind of quarterback who can shoulder his team anyway, particularly in light of struggles and shortcomings elsewhere on the roster.
A dominant outing against the Rams, even if it results in a loss, probably puts off the inevitable switch for at least another week.
Garoppolo, naturally, wants to keep that up as long as possible.
No. 3: How much will Jimmy Garoppolo embrace Trey Lance?
Not surprisingly, Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t too pleased with San Francisco’s aggressive trade-up to No. 3 overall in this year’s NFL Draft to grab Trey Lance. While Kyle Shanahan thought a “pissed-off Jimmy” would be good for the 49ers offense overall, the on-field results have generally been at Garoppolo’s norm.
At best, not bad. At worst, in need of a replacement.
The relationship between Garoppolo and Lance so far has been a quality one, at least based on reports, although Garoppolo did admit it was a bit tough to watch the rookie pass for the Niners’ first touchdown of the season way back in Week 1.
Still, there’s the thought of mentorship, a role Garoppolo is supposed to be serving towards Lance right now even if the latter isn’t playing much.
When the inevitable comes, at least if it happens this season, the key question will be just how much of a mentor Garoppolo will remain for Lance, made even more awkward by the fact San Francisco is finally putting the pieces on nearly a year-long sentiment of wanting to replace Jimmy G.
Garoppolo said he’d serve as that mentor earlier before the regular season began.
But it’ll be interesting to see if that dynamic changes at all if and when he’s named QB2 behind Lance for the remainder of 2021.
No. 2: Will Jimmy Garoppolo demand 49ers release him?
As soon as the 49ers made the move for Trey Lance, there was the real possibility Jimmy Garoppolo would immediately demand a trade or release.
But he didn’t. And for a pretty simple reason, a $26.4 million reason he wouldn’t get out there on the open market. Not after multiple serious injuries and a merely so-so tenure as the Niners’ starter.
Garoppolo is going to be jettisoned this offseason anyway, and it’ll be hard for San Francisco to find a trade partner to take on the final $27 million owed to him in 2022, meaning a straight-up release is probable. And Garoppolo, his stock value at a new low, won’t be worth much on the free-agent market.
Related Story: Will Jimmy Garoppolo still be ‘the guy’ for 49ers over rest of 2021?
There’s a way to rectify that, though.
Garoppolo could demand his release once Lance is handed the starter’s role. He’d almost surely clear waivers, even though his prorated salary remaining on the year is relatively affordable. If he was to clear, Garoppolo would then be free to sign with another quarterback-needy team potentially on the cusp of competing for a postseason berth, perhaps one like the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos or even Cleveland Browns, whose own starters are either injured or underperforming this season.
The 49ers would likely grant this, naming Nate Sudfeld the backup to Trey Lance. And Garoppolo would likely go from one starter’s job to another to help salvage his career.
No. 1: What legacy will Jimmy Garoppolo leave with 49ers?
There’s going to be no shortage of Niners fans who’ll look back on Jimmy Garoppolo with a good deal of disdain, and underperforming and oft-injured quarterback who cost the team a lot of money and only partially delivered.
His supporters, of course, will point out his five-game win streak to close out 2017 after being acquired at that year’s NFL trade deadline, then focus on his 2019 Super Bowl campaign that saw him toss 3,978 yards, now fourth best in a single season in franchise history.
It can’t be argued Garoppolo gave stability at the position. His serious injuries in 2018 and 2020 negate that.
Yet San Francisco was notably better with him under center than it was without him. While accounting for “quarterback wins” in of themselves is a silly stat (there are 52 other players on the roster, after all), Kyle Shanahan went 25-12 with Garoppolo as a starter through nine weeks of 2021 and all previous years compared to just 7-28 without him under center.
Even if Garoppolo was far from elite, he was better than anything the 49ers had between 2017 and 2020.
Fans may never totally come around in his favor as they did with former Niners quarterback Alex Smith, whose own tenure with the team was marked with headache and controversy before his late surge in 2011 and the first half of 2012.
Or maybe they will. That part is hard to predict.
At any rate, what we do know is Garoppolo will leave a long and complicated legacy once his days with San Francisco are officially over.