For the last six seasons, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has called the Bay Area home while playing with the San Francisco 49ers. He and the team experienced a great deal of success during that tenure, as he went 38-17 as a starter over that span.
Injuries played a major part, as he missed chunks of multiple seasons, which could have changed the outcome for the 49ers. Had he been healthy a few more times, a Super Bowl title could have been achieved.
But, the 49ers have built themselves into one of the perennial contenders in the NFC with a loaded roster. It was something that Garoppolo is no longer a part of, as he left for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason as a free agent.
It didn’t take long for the 49ers and Garoppolo to cross paths as his new team and his old team faced off last week in a joint practice and preseason game. It gave him a chance to catch up with some former teammates, such as linebacker Fred Warner, who had a lot of nice things to say about his former quarterback.
“Some guys are just natural-born leaders,” Warner said about Garoppolo shortly after Thursday’s session concluded, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. “You either got it or you don’t. And with him, he was a natural-born leader through and through. His competitive edge, every time he stepped out there, you knew he was always going to give us a chance. Just seeing him and his poise out there, he was just a leader through and through, and I respect him a lot, and I’m grateful for him, for everything he brought to our team.” (H/T MSN)
Warner, who has turned into one of the premier linebackers in the NFL, spent five seasons as teammates with Garoppolo. He was a fifth-round pick of the 49ers in the 2018 NFL Draft.
In Warner’s opinion, Garoppolo seems happy with his new situation. He signed a three-year deal with the Raiders that could be worth up to $72.5 million. There were some bumps in the road, as he didn’t pass hy physical at first, but that has been put in the rearview mirror as he has been cleared and participating in training camp.
“It was fun seeing him,” Warner added about Garoppolo. “I had to check him out before practice started, just ask him how things were…He seems happy. It was fun to go against him out there again.”
The writing had been on the wall for a while about Garoppolo moving on from San Francisco. The 49ers attempted to move him during the 2022 offseason when they were turning to Trey Lance as their starter.
Even after Lance was hurt and Garoppolo took over, the foot injury that put his contract in jeopardy with the Raiders led to Brock Purdy taking over. Purdy now looks like the future of the 49ers, as both parties are happy with how things turned out.
