The Los Angeles Rams have re-signed former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on a one-year deal. The Rams are clearly doing the Niners a solid by leaving open the opportunity for San Francisco to face its former signal-caller.
Garoppolo's re-signing with the Rams comes via reporter Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The Arlington Heights native spent last season with Los Angeles as the backup to Matthew Stafford. He saw action in the Rams' final game of the regular season when they rested Stafford and their starters. Jimmy G threw for 334 passing yards and had two touchdown passes as well as one interception in a loss.
When there were trade rumors swirling regarding Stafford this offseason, some reports suggested the Rams were comfortable having Garoppolo be their starting QB for the 2025 season if they moved on from Stafford. The 49ers' defense surely would have relished the opportunity to go against Garoppolo who clearly peaked during his time with the 49ers.
Garoppolo does deserve credit for being competent enough behind center for the Niners that he helped lead them to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019 and an NFC Championship game against Los Angeles in the 2021 season.
However, his struggles with the Las Vegas Raiders following his tenure in San Francisco and the fact that he has been relegated to backup status suggests that he was propped up by head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense and the playmakers at his disposal while in the Bay Area.
Nonetheless, the Eastern Illinois product exhibited a lot of professionalism in an awkward situation when the Niners traded up to draft quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft and said all the right things which he deserves credit for. He was also clearly beloved by his teammates while he was a 49er.
At the same time, if Stafford goes down with an injury or is unable to play against the Niners this year, the 49ers would love to go against a guy who has made a habit of throwing untimely interceptions in his career. He does have another skilled offensive coach in Sean McVay to prop him up, so perhaps the Niners will be facing a Garoppolo who is a little better than the version of him on display in Vegas. Garoppolo staying with Los Angeles also reunites him with wide receiver Davante Adams who played with him in Las Vegas and reportedly "signed off" on Garoppolo's benching.
That should be a fun, not awkward at all reunion.
Garoppolo did say last year that part of why the Rams signed him was because of his familiarity with the 49ers' offense. Garoppolo did not seem like the most studious playbook-worm while he was with the Niners, but perhaps he picked up on a few things that can slightly help the Rams out.
Los Angeles figures to be the biggest impediment to San Francisco winning the NFC West in 2025, so the two games they play against each other are going to matter a lot. Garoppolo on LA's sideline probably does not give them much of a competitive advantage, but if he were to be behind center for either of those games then the 49ers would definitely have a competitive advantage.