End of 49ers’ playoff run leads to talk of Jimmy Garoppolo’s future
With Jimmy Garoppolo’s days in a San Francisco 49ers uniform perhaps numbered, neither he nor some others around him were ready to talk much about it on Sunday.
“I’m not gonna sit here and make a farewell statement or anything right now. It’s the last stuff on my mind,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after San Francisco lost to the Los Angeles Rams 20-17 in the NFC Championship Game.
“Jimmy has batted his ass off. He battled today. He did some unbelievable things today. I love coaching Jimmy,” Shanahan said.
Tight end George Kittle, one of Garoppolo’s favorite targets and among the Niners’ biggest offensive weapons, wasn’t enjoying the topic of possibly losing the quarterback, either.
“I mean, lot of unknowns. Yeah, it’s not fun to think about. Kind of more just processing losing the game before the Super Bowl, which isn’t a lot of fun. But I’ll get to those emotions whenever they come.”
Garoppolo, 30, has one year remaining on the five-year, $137.5 million contract he signed with the 49ers in February 2018. He is due to make $25.5 million next season.
Garoppolo is an eight-year veteran who has played the past five seasons for the 49ers. But the team dealt three first-round draft picks to the Miami Dolphins for the right to move up in the 2021 draft and select Trey Lance third overall.
With Garoppolo injured during the season, Lance appeared in six games and made two starts, completing 57.8 percent of his passes for 603 yards and five touchdowns. He also carried 38 times for 168 yards and a score.
Garoppolo said he thought it would take a few days for thoughts of his future to “start to settle in a little bit.”
“Emotions are high after a game, win or loss. It’s one of those things you gotta be glad it happened. Just smile from it, think about the good things. … Just the fight and the battle in this team throughout the entire year has been really impressive. And I love those guys,” Garoppolo said.
He has thrown for 11,852 yards and 71 touchdowns in the regular season. In seven postseason games, he has completed 80 of 132 passes for 962 yards and four touchdowns, with six interceptions.
–Field Level Media
