Back in 2017, the 49ers executed a rare midseason trade for a quarterback with the New England Patriots, shipping a second-rounder in exchange for Jimmy Garoppolo. He couldn’t have started off his tenure better, going 5-0 down the stretch despite jumping into coach Kyle Shanahan’s system midway through the campaign.
Garoppolo, of course, spent his career to that point backing up Tom Brady. On Tuesday, Brady *officially* retired following days of wild speculation and confusion. The 49ers have made it clear that Jimmy G is on the trading block again.
As such, betting sites like BetOnline.ag are already accepting wagers on the next possible quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to BetOnline.ag, Garoppolo is the odds-on favorite to replace his former mentor in Tampa Bay.
That’d be full circle.
In his season wrap-up press conference Tuesday, Garoppolo told reporters, “I just wanna go to a place where they wanna win” and the Bucs have certainly been a winning outfit recently. The team is 31-18 in the regular season since Bruce Arians took over, including a 24-9 since Brady joined, including a victory in Super Bowl 55.
Garoppolo and Brady grew closer over their three-plus seasons in New England. On Tuesday, Jimmy G took time to shout out his former mentor.
“First of all, congratulations to Tom,” Garoppolo said. “Absolutely incredible career. Best to ever to it. Just so happy for, man, all he’s accomplished. I’m grateful for everything I learned from Tom. Starting back to my rookie year [in 2014]. … I think he’s going to really enjoy retirement. He’s always on to the next thing and he always has things happening. But very grateful for what he taught me as a player, as a person. Really just helped me grow as a man. I really appreciate him for that and wish him nothing for the best.”
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Whereas Garoppolo used to be the young buck in the QB room, he spent the past season helping groom rookie Trey Lance, who is expected to take over the starting role in 2022.
“There’s been moments with me and Trey where it felt like me and Tom and times,” Garoppolo said. “I would think to myself – like, damn – I used to be the young guy in this relationship here. It’s just crazy how things come full circle like that.”
Another fun wrinkle to all of this? Lance wasn't even born when Brady was drafted, as noted by Brian Peacock of the Locked on 49ers podcast.
BetOnline.ag also handicapped destinations for Garoppolo and the Bucs are third (11/2) behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (4/1) and Washington Football Team (4/1) in terms of odds.
