In 2017, Jimmy Garoppolo went 5-0 for the San Francisco 49ers, who had started the season 1-10, and was rewarded with a five-year, $137.5 million contract the following offseason. The future looked bright – and it was. After all, Garoppolo helped the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019.
Aside from that magical 2019 season, though, Garoppolo has often been injured, ineffective, or both. In fact, he could miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
At this point, what should fans and analysts make of the 29-year-old quarterback?
“It just goes back to show how hard it is to be consistently good week in and week out,” former NFL quarterback and current PFF analyst Bruce Gradkowski said on The DA Show. “That’s why I have so much respect for Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger – these guys that have been doing it year over year for over a decade, two decades. When you look at these younger quarterbacks like Jimmy G, he can do it very well at times. He does have that it-factor. He’s a guy that you would love in the huddle and the locker room. But every game, there’s always that boneheaded mistake or the turnover-worthy play that comes up. How do you eliminate that? How do you take that out of your game?”
And, how do you stay healthy? Garoppolo played just three games in 2018. He might be done after six in 2020.
“A lot of times, it doesn’t come down to this guy is better than that guy; it comes down to this guy never misses a game,” Gradkowski said. “Look at Eli Manning all those years. There is something very important about being consistent, being that guy, being able to show up at practice every day healthy, ready to prepare and win. I think with Jimmy G, these injuries are setbacks because he’s losing a lot of time on the field. When you’re not lighting up the scoreboard, now it’s kind of hard to keep talking yourself into ‘Jimmy G is the guy.’”
Nick Mullens will start for Garoppolo against the Green Bay Packers (5-2) on Thursday. Mullens, like Garoppolo, has had his share of good and bad moments with the Niners, but Gradkowski is eager to see what Mullens can do as the starter for an extended period.
“I’m not saying he’s going to overtake Jimmy G’s job,” Gradkowski said. “But look, there’s got to be some consistency at that position. We’ll see what Nick Mullens can do with it.”