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It’s already June, and the San Francisco 49ers have yet to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, and one fan has taken a creative step when it comes to counting the days until that time finally presents itself.
Portugal artist Rita Carvalho is keeping track of the days on social media by illustrating the 30-year-old in famous – and hilarious – pop culture scenarios. And she will continue to do it every day until he’s traded.
Literally.
‘Just for Fun’
According to ABC 7, Carvalho, who goes by the handle @ritaoak_art said that it’s her boyfriend Felipe, who is a 49ers fan, who pushes her to keep up the illustrations, which she started posting on Reddit earlier this year. From there, it jumped platforms and Carvalho started sharing her work on Twitter and Instagram.
“I started doing this just for fun,” Carvalho told ABC.
Now, months in, the artist is getting love from all over.
“I’m blown away because I would never expect it,” she said to NBC Bay Area. “When I started this journey, I was just doing these drawings for fun, one every day because I really like Jimmy. Now we’re here talking and people are loving it, and they want more.”
From “Jurassic Park” to “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” Carvalho has taken Garoppolo on a wild, virtual ride.
Jimmy G.: Pet Detective. Or, rather, WR Detective.
A Garoppolo vs. a T-Rex battle would probably end a little messy.
Getting some popular meme love in there.
“It’s Always Sunny in San Francisco.”
If Garoppolo decides that this football thing isn’t working out to well for him, he can always play the new “Old Spice” guy.
‘We’ll See How Many More You Have to Draw’
The man of the hour even responded to Carvalho’s work in April.
“Rita, I really appreciate it,” Garoppolo said to ABC 7. “It’s really cool. Just the uniqueness to it. We’ll see how many more you’ll have to draw.”
The saga will continue to be at least dragged out a little while longer due to no clear suitors popping up on the radar. One possible scenario has recently emerged for the quarterback if he happens to be released from the team – at least according to ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick.
“The 49ers are not going to trade Jimmy Garoppolo to the Seattle Seahawks in the division,” Riddick said on “NFL Live.” “But when they cut him, and it sounds like they will cut him eventually, I would be all over that. All over it if I’m the Seattle Seahawks.
“Why? … That offense, very similar in terms of constructs, in terms of philosophy, that Kyle Shanahan runs out in San Francisco. That’s an offense that’s tailor-made for Jimmy G’s style. A little bit run-centric, play-action-pass-centric, some quarterback movement. But don’t get it twisted. Jimmy G’s not a guy who’s out on the perimeter, throwing the football that way.
“But this is a guy who, when he is on, and the running game is strong, and he’s got protection, he can throw as pretty of a pass as anyone in the NFL. And with some of the weapons that they have out there, when you think of Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Noah Fant, two good running backs, just drafted two book-end offensive tackles, building up the defense, Jimmy G is like the piece they’re missing.”
But seeing Garoppolo in a rival team’s jersey is not an ideal scenario for 49ers fans even if he’s cut by the team. Until either a trade or cut presents itself, fans will always have Carvalho’s clever work to keep them distracted.