© Kelley L Cox | 2016 Nov 20
Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t thrown his last pass as a 49ers quarterback according to a longtime friend of Kyle Shanahan.
NFL analyst and former quarterback Chris Simms reported on Sunday that San Francisco is out of the Tom Brady sweepstakes, and will go into the 2020 season with Garoppolo at the helm. Brady’s No. 1 choice in free agency was San Francisco according to Simms, but “something happened in last few days” that led the 49ers withdraw interest, assuming there ever was any.
Now the Patriots and Buccaneers remain as the two teams Brady is deciding between, after the Titans also removed themselves from contention by re-signing Ryan Tannehill to a lucrative contract extension.
Despite the ongoing rumors, the 49ers have remained publicly committed to Garoppolo since the start of the offseason.
“We’re extremely proud of Jimmy and committed to Jimmy moving forward,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said last month at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He’s our guy.”
Brady, 42, grew up in San Mateo as a 49ers fan, and was in attendance at Candlestick Park for the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 10, 1982, when Dwight Clark made “The Catch.”
In addition to being 14 years younger, Garoppolo finished the 2019 season with a higher completion percentage (69.1 vs. 60.8), yards per attempt (8.4 vs. 6.6) and QB rating (102 vs. 88). Brady finished slightly above Garoppolo in overall rating according to Pro Football Focus (Brady: 79, Garoppolo: 77.5).
Garoppolo is under contract through 2022 but will have been paid all of his guaranteed money but the end of this season.
