49ers must kick tires on these QBs to replace Jimmy Garoppolo
By Peter Panacy
Now without Jimmy Garoppolo for the rest of the year, the 49ers may like Brock Purdy but should also bring in an experienced veteran.
There have got to be a flurry of different emotions circling around quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers right now.
Arguably playing his best season as a pro after such a weird 2022 offseason, Garoppolo’s campaign this year came to a crashing halt in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins when he suffered a season-ending foot injury.
In the wake of losing second-year quarterback Trey Lance to a broken ankle way back in Week 2, the Niners are now down to their third-string quarterback, rookie Brock Purdy.
Purdy handled himself well during the 33-17 victory, going 25-of-37 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and one might guess San Francisco simply keeps him in the starting role to ride out the rest of the season.
However, with the 49ers in firm control of a playoff spot, perhaps inking an experienced veteran is on the docket.
No, this won’t include recently waived quarterback Baker Mayfield, and the Niners did at journeyman signal-caller Josh Johnson to the practice squad. But there’s likely to be another transaction or two to help bolster San Francisco’s quarterbacking depth chart.
Including these names who might need to be pulled into a red and gold uniform.
49ers replacement quarterback No. 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick
Like Johnson, now-retired journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has played all over the league, except he didn’t make a stop with the 49ers, unlike Johnson.
The one caveat for the 40-year-old Fitzpatrick is he already made it clear to TMZ Sports that he’s fully retired and doesn’t want to go back to playing, instead, now he’s cashing in on a lucrative analyst deal for Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football broadcast.
But, hey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady retired, then un-retired. Perhaps a stacked 49ers team might be enough to convince Fitzpatrick to put his cleats back on again.
Especially if it’ll create even more gameday discussion about how both he and fullback Kyle Juszczyk share the same alma mater, Harvard.