No one expected Jimmy Garoppolo back on the 49ers roster this season. He’s been written off as the team’s starter dozens of times. So, is it feasible that Garoppolo could stun again and return to the Bay for another season?
Probably not.
NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco joined the Murph & Mac Show with FP & Kolsky on Thursday to break down the 49ers’ quarterback situation.
He had a hard time finding a scenario that involved Jimmy Garoppolo returning to the team. What are the odds?
“I mean, I was gonna say zero,” Maiocco said. “Maybe let’s go 0.01 [percent]?”
The reasoning is because the 49ers clearly have something in Brock Purdy, and they’d probably still like to find out what Trey Lance is.
“I don’t know the order, but I can tell you No. 1 and No. 2 is Brock Purdy and Trey Lance, or Trey Lance and Brock Purdy,” Maiocco says. “So if Jimmy Garoppolo re-signs with the 49ers, it won’t be as a starter. It’ll be as a backup.”
Garoppolo isn’t coming back as a backup, again.
There are too many teams out there who are desperate for a serviceable starting quarterback. Garoppolo, now that he’ll be a free agent, will have too many options on the table to not find a gig somewhere else as a starter or bridge to a young quarterback.
“There’s going to be teams out there, whether it’s the Jets, whether it’s the Raiders, could it be the Commanders? Could it be the Colts? I mean, I was just talking to Greg Papa about this on my podcast and he counts 12 teams that could be in the market for a quarterback next year,” Maiocco said. “And not all of them are going to be able to get a first-year starter in the draft. So there’s going to be teams that will be looking for a starter. That could be Jimmy Garoppolo. There’ll be other teams looking for a bridge guy. That could be Jimmy Garoppolo.”
The only wrinkle he could maybe, possibly, theoretically see the 49ers throwing into the equation is non-Garoppolo-related.
It’s that guy who grew up in San Mateo, and that’s just out of deference to what he’s accomplished in his career.
“But the 49ers, short of the 49ers going out and doing something dramatic like kicking the tires or making an offer to Tom Brady, short of that, then the starter for next season, I think it’s gotta be 98% it’s gonna be Purdy or Trey Lance,” Maiocco said. “And honestly, at this point, I have no idea what they’re thinking.”
Purdy will have the reins for the final stretch of the season, barring a late playoff comeback for Garoppolo. Even if Garoppolo does get healthy, Maiocco said it’s unlikely the 49ers would turn to him as the starter.
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Catch Murph & Mac weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.
