Jimmy G can’t shake free from the grasp of 49ers quarterback drama.
More than five months have passed since Jimmy Garoppolo signed a three-year contract to become QB1 for the Las Vegas Raiders, but he was asked about the Trey Lance trade in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Robin Lundberg.
Honestly has always been a key trait of Jimmy G’s personality and he gave some interesting answers when asked about the Lance deal, as his former understudy was shipped to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick last week.
“Weird situation. Been a lot of weird situations over there in San Francisco. Just leave it at that,” Garoppolo said. “But I’m happy Trey got another shot, man. Happy he’s getting to Dallas, he gets another opportunity. Hopefully, things work out there. But it’s a weird league. Everyone has a different story, how they get to places. Myself included in that. It’s never a straight line. There’s always gonna be bumps in the road and things you gotta overcome and I think Trey is made of the right stuff. He’s a good dude. Love that guy, he’s a brother for me, so I’m always pulling for him.”
Jimmy G knows first-hand about “weird” QB situations in San Francisco. A few weeks ago, he told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver that the 2021 season was “real awkward” for him after the Niners traded up to No. 3 overall to select Lance, putting an expiration date on Garoppolo’s time in The Bay.
Garoppolo even issued a heartfelt goodbye to the 49ers Faithful after the 2021 campaign before a shoulder surgery hurt his trade prospects and he came back in 2022 to be Lance’s backup. It’s a good thing, as Garoppolo’s 10-start streak in the middle of the season laid the bridge to Brock Purdy’s furious finish.
Asked point blank how the 49ers have handled the QB situation over the years, Garoppolo responded, “How do you think they’ve handled ‘em? Nah, I’m kidding. It is what it is.”
Not to mention he had a big smirk on his face.
“I think it’s been messy, I’ll put it that way,” Lundberg said.
“That’s a nice way to put it,” Garoppolo said. “It is what it is. As a player, you gotta make the best of your situation. We’re all dealt different situations, weird situations, whatever it may be. It’s how you come out of it that makes you a better person in the end.”
Without completely dunking on the 49ers, Garoppolo’s discontent with his tenure on the team is palpable.
There doesn’t appear to be too many hard feelings, though, as Garoppolo also reacted to coach Kyle Shanahan’s claims that he was the franchise’s best quarterback since Steve Young.
“It’s really cool with the lineage of quarterbacks that the Niners have put out,” Garoppolo said. “Just to be even mentioned in that sentence it’s pretty cool. To be mentioned with those names, it’s a legacy with quarterbacks in that organization, just to be in that conversation is pretty cool.”
Now that Lance and Jimmy G are out of the picture, it’s time for Brock Purdy to try and add his name to that list of all-time Niners quarterbacks.
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