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Teams should not fall for the Jimmy Garoppolo trap

By Lou Scataglia

Jan 9, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) warms up before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jimmy Garoppolo will be a free agent next season and may have some suitors, but teams should not fall for the trap of thinking he’s a starter.  I am so interested to see how this ends up.  One of the final pieces to this puzzle was Garoppolo agreeing to a revised deal for the 2022 season which keeps him in San Francisco as a backup to Trey Lance.

I do think he ends up seeing some action this year, but I also think there is no way that the 49ers retain him for 2023 or beyond unless Trey Lance is simply not good enough.  We may not even know that until 2023, anyway.

In that case, Garoppolo will be a free agent and free to sign with any team that may want his services.  Some teams that have shaky quarterback situations like the Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, or even New York Jets could sniff around the idea of signing him.

Will another NFL team fall for the Jimmy Garoppolo trap in 2023?

I do think that he’s one of the 32 best signal callers in the NFL, but I find his ceiling incredibly low, and I would caution teams from thinking he could be their franchise starter.  First and foremost, the 49ers would not have drafted Trey Lance if they thought that Garoppolo was their true, franchise quarterback.  To me, this reason is enough.  Why did they trade up and give up all of those draft picks to take Trey Lance if Garoppolo was truly a franchise quarterback?

Secondly, he has injury concerns.  Three of his four years starting as a 49er saw him miss time with an injury.  He only played in three games in 2018 and six in 2020.  Thirdly, he’s not special as a passer.  He’s never thrown more than 27 touchdown passes in a season and does not have anything special like arm talent, accuracy, or even mobility.

He does not fit the mold for a modern-day franchise quarterback.  Furthermore, the 49ers’ offense is incredibly quarterback friendly, as many of us know.  The Shanahan/Kubiak offense, or the zone offense, is something that is becoming copied more and more and is seen as one that is easier to handle for quarterbacks.

Kyle Shanahan takes this even further as his run games are usually top-notch, and prioritizes the yards after the catch, which has allowed Garoppolo to limit the number of times he’ll throw downfield.  I think when you put the entire equation together, Jimmy Garoppolo is an average quarterback who could serve as a bridge/spot starter for teams until he decides to retire.

In my opinion, a team should not make a financial commitment for Jimmy Garoppolo to be their starter unless they have a rookie/young quarterback who needs development.

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