By Jordan Long
(Update at 7:08: Mountain Time Jimmy Garoppolo has been announced as the 49ers starter)
The San Francisco 49ers start their season on Sunday when they travel to Detroit to take on the Lions. The 49ers are looking to improve on their 6-10 record from 2020. The 49ers haven’t announced a starting quarterback, but it should be Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo is in his 4th year in San Francisco. Overall as a starter for the 49ers, he has an impressive 22-8 record. The 49ers went to the playoffs once with him, 2019. Of course, he led them to Super Bowl 54. Unfortunately, they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 31-20.
Last year was one to forget for Garoppolo. He started 6 games for the 49ers but missed 10 games dealing with a high ankle sprain which occurred in week 2 against the New York Jets. In those contests, Garoppolo went 3-3 and he passed for 1,096 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. The 49ers were 3-7 without him.
San Francisco ended up with the 3rd pick in the 1st round of this years’ NFL draft. They had plenty of options to choose from especially at the quarterback position. They could have selected Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields or Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. They decided the best quarterback on the board was Trey Lance out of North Dakota State University. The 49ers thought Lance could be the future of the franchise and may start this season.
During training camp and preseason games, there was a quarterback competition for the starting quarterback job. Garoppolo had the edge because he knew the playbook. Lance needed to learn the plays and the language the 49ers use.
The 49ers played both quarterbacks during the preseason. Lance struggled at times, but he was trying to understand NFL defenses. He was 19 of 41 for 276 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Lance completed a disappointing 46.3% of his passes and was sacked 6 times.
Garoppolo didn’t pass as much since the coaching staff knew how he plays. He finished the preseason 10 of 16 passing for 105 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown, but he was picked off 1 time and wasn’t sacked. Garoppolo completed 62.5% of his passes.
San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t picked a starting quarterback but according to msn.com, Garoppolo thinks it is going to be him, saying, “I told you guys a long time ago I had a pretty good feeling about it. I kind of joked about it but I always kind of knew where I stood and everything and now it’s official, I guess.”
The 49ers are most likely going to start Garoppolo in week 1. He will have the job until the year gets away. It could be that if the 49ers are 5-9 and aren’t in a position to be a Wild Card team, they will think of starting Lance. The only way Lance sees playing time before that is if Garoppolo sustains an injury. Right now, it is Garoppolo’s job to lose.
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