The Los Angeles Rams shocked everyone on Thursday by selecting quarterback Ty Simpson out of Alabama with the No. 13 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers fans were thrilled because it meant the Rams took a guy who likely won’t have a real impact for years with Matthew Stafford ahead of him on the depth chart, but the move could also mean that former Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s retirement is imminent.
Even ahead of the draft, there were rumors swirling about Garoppolo’s potential retirement. He is currently a free agent, and while he was seen as a possible option for the Arizona Cardinals, they decided to pick up Gardner Minshew in free agency.
At this point, there really isn’t anything left for Jimmy G to prove. He has been a backup for the Rams the last two seasons and had a solid run with the 49ers, even if it ended fairly acrimoniously. He’s made a lot of money in his career, so there’s no point in him continuing as a backup in the NFL unless he truly wants to.
He’s a good-looking guy, so maybe he can model or pivot to some other career path. Bryce Huff’s foray into the lithium-ion battery space after his surprise retirement shows that there is indeed life after football.
If Garoppolo does retire, it would be a little bit sad. It would have been fun to see him start a game against the Niners at some point. We know there’s no love lost between Garoppolo and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, so Jimmy G would’ve been extra motivated to try to get a win against a coach who never fully believed in him.
It will be interesting to see how 49ers fans view Garoppolo’s legacy. He did help lead San Francisco to a Super Bowl berth and some deep playoff runs, so he wasn’t completely inept, but his brutal one season with the Las Vegas Raiders showed that his success in San Francisco was probably a result of him being propped up by coaching and the players around him.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said that Simpson will compete with Stetson Bennett to be the backup to Matthew Stafford, so that doesn’t leave any room for Jimmy G. Maybe there’s some other team out there that needs a backup. But Garoppolo, now age 34, may decide to call it. He’s had about as good of a career as he could have hoped for.
Los Angeles selecting Simpson is probably good for the Niners this season as it means they have a chance to make up ground on LA, but fans may now have to say goodbye to Garoppolo unless he decides to find a new home as a backup somewhere.
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