Jimmy Garoppolo was served a hefty slice of humble pie over the course of the NFL offseason.
Garoppolo was there for the taking after the 2021 season wrapped up, as it was clear the 49ers were moving forward with up-and-coming quarterback Trey Lance. But in a surprising development, there was no Jimmy G trade in the spring or summer. After months and months of rumors about his San Francisco exit, Garoppolo ultimately restructured his contract to stick with the Niners for the upcoming campaign as Lance’s backup.
A handful of factors were working against Garoppolo, including San Francisco’s reported asking price and the 30-year-old’s offseason shoulder surgery. Still, 49ers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young believes Jimmy G should be taken aback by the lack of trade interest.
“I think Jimmy must be shocked because when he (has a 33-14 record as a starter) and we know that Kyle (Shanahan), for whatever reason, has chosen away from Jimmy, he’s not interested in Jimmy as a starter,” Young said Friday on KNBR 680’s “Tolbert & Copes,” as transcribed by NBC Sports Bay Area. “So he’s made that clear for three years now. ‘I’m not interested in Jimmy as a starter, that’s not what I want.’ So he’s chosen against that, we know that and we’re going to trade him and then the injury delayed everything.
“But in this era of quarterback-centric (play), anyone who can be 33-14 regardless of how you look at it, that’s somebody you want to be on the field, there’s somewhere in this 32-team league that would want Jimmy Garoppolo to start for them. To find out, despite the injury, the late start and the music stopped a little early, I understand that, but by the time he got healthy, what spots were open? In the end, that nobody was interested in Jimmy Garoppolo as a starter, for Jimmy, is a referendum that should be alarming to him.”
Young isn’t the only well-known media member who carries this line of thinking. His ESPN colleague, Stephen A. Smith, believes staying put with the 49ers is a “bad look” for Garoppolo.
