NFL Free Agency 2023: Predicting landing spots for top 10 QBs
4. Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers
4. Scouting Report. QB. 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo. player. 42. Pick Analysis
Jimmy Garoppolo 2022 stats
- 11 games
- 67.2 completion rate
- 2,437 yards
- 16 TD
- 4 INT
I’m not sure there’s a better marriage out there for Jimmy Garoppolo than with Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers. Like it or not, Garoppolo has been one of the best game managing point guards in the NFL since he was traded to the 49ers back in 2017. QB wins may not be a stat that matters to everyone, but over a large sample size, it’s impossible to ignore that the 49ers are 38-17 with Garoppolo under center and they’ve been to the NFC Championship game three times since he came aboard.
Now, this past season, the 49ers had to make it to the NFCCG without Garoppolo, but he still helped them earn one of the best records in the NFL over his 11 games.
Again, I don’t know that there’s a better marriage for him in the NFL than in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. The 49ers seemingly said their goodbyes to Garoppolo last offseason, and Garoppolo certainly said his goodbyes in front of the San Francisco media. It was purely a last resort that he ended up back in San Francisco in the first place.
Now, in 2023, he doesn’t have the hurdles of offseason shoulder surgery or a big, ugly cap hit standing in the way of being pursued by other teams. Are the 49ers going to go into the 2023 season assuming one or both of Trey Lance/Brock Purdy will be ready to go?
Can they risk that given what this team has gone through injury-wise in recent years? Will it cost them extra to keep Garoppolo around, given the fact that they can’t guarantee him a role?
Will he opt to sign with a team like Houston and the Texans where DeMeco Ryans just landed a head coaching gig? Will he re-join forces with Josh McDaniels as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders?
Ultimately, I think teams would be foolish not to pursue Garoppolo. As the Kyle Shanahan tree bears fruit around the league, plenty of new teams make sense like the Texans and Jets, who have former 49ers assistants in the head coach’s chair.
It sounds like the writing is on the wall for his departure from the 49ers, however.
#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said today that Jimmy Garoppolo won’t be back next season and he will leave San Francisco when he becomes a free agent this offseason: pic.twitter.com/xLIS2SSLvE
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 1, 2023
Prediction: Signs with Houston Texans