As the San Francisco 49ers gear up to take on the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs, Jimmy Garoppolo is playing in what could be his final game as the Niners’ quarterback.
The 49ers made a significant investment to land Trey Lance using multiple first-round picks and a third-round pick. It’s clear that he’s the quarterback of the future in San Francisco. Even though he mostly spent the 2021 NFL season developing on the practice field, it’ll be his job at some point.
“Obviously, we invested a ton in Trey,” Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area in late December. “And the great news there is that we’re as excited about him as ever. He’s been doing tremendous things. You talk about development; I’ve watched him, and yeah, the best kind of development is going and playing, but you can also get better out here on the practice field.”
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Until it’s time for Lance to take over, it’s Jimmy Garoppolo who will be under center for the 49ers. His focus remains on what’s in front of him; matching up against the Dallas Cowboys during the NFC Wild Card matchup this weekend.
“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Garoppolo said Wednesday, via the Associated Press. “It has been in mine really this whole season. I knew what type of season it was, knew everything that was going on behind the scenes and whatnot. So it was a little different. But, at the same time, you’ve got to toe that line because you don’t want to get too emotional in those moments. You’ve just got to go play football when it comes down to it, but, the human side definitely comes into play.”
While Garoppolo was the starting quarterback during San Francisco’s Super Bowl run, there is a lack of dynamic results from his production that limits the ceiling of an offense. In a division that features Kyler Murray, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson (for now), it helps to have a quarterback that can make big throws when needed.
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Managing to showcase his abilities in the NFL playoffs could be a prime opportunity for Jimmy Garoppolo to essentially audition for a prospective team elsewhere. However, he wants to ‘keep this thing going’ in San Francisco as long as possible.
“I love this team, love the players, love everything about it,” Garoppolo said. “It’s a good group to be around, fun group. We want to keep this thing going for as long as we can now.”
The Dallas Cowboys will not be an easy matchup for the San Francisco 49ers. They have shown to be able to generate turnovers at a high-rate and get to the quarterback in a hurry. While Deebo Samuel’s versatility will pose challenges for the opposition, a strong outing from Garoppolo will almost surely be needed.
If Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t perform at a high-level, it could be enough to make it his last game as the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers.
