After landing a surprise endorsement from San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana earlier in the month, Jimmy Garoppolo has received another nod of approval from another college football stalwart with extensive experience playing quarterback on the west coast: Ryan Leaf.
Speaking with Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan on NBC Sports Bay Area’s 49ers Talk podcast, Leaf made the case for why Garoppolo should forgo outside opportunities and instead return to Santa Clara to keep as much consistency as possible heading into 2023.
“I wouldn’t change it, I wouldn’t change a thing right now,” Leaf said. “I’d re-sign Jimmy Garoppolo. What an incredibly capable backup if you’re going to try Trey Lance out. We don’t know if the elbow injury for Brock Purdy how long that’s going to be for him to get healthy and get ready and ready to go. He’s shown that he could be a starter in this league and win, so has Jimmy Garoppolo who has gone to a Super Bowl.
“Now you’ve got two guys that are very capable if Trey Lance is not the guy. I wouldn’t do a thing. The defense is amazing, they’re going to have a new defensive mindset with Steve Wilks as the defensive coordinator. I absolutely would not change a thing. This is a good thing going for you guys.”
Assuming the 49ers are planning to go with Lance as their quarterback to start the season and that Purdy is unable to play right away, Leaf assertions that are far from guaranteed, signing a veteran backup quarterback does make some sense, especially one like Garoppolo, who has extensive experience under center in San Francisco.
Ryan Leaf Explains Why Jimmy G Should Stay in San Francisco
Discussing his idea of keeping Garoppolo in San Francisco heading into 2023, Leaf believes that the former second-round pick’s experience with the team, when coupled with his age, could make his return a natural fit.
“He knows this offense, he runs it really well,” Leaf explained. “If he can get paid a pretty good salary to be a backup and kind of help these two guys along, I don’t know if that’s the worst place to be right now at his age.
“He’s a winner, he’s just an absolute winner. He watched the greatest of all time do it as a backup in New England. He understands how to prepare, he understands what’s asked of him on the football field, he doesn’t try and overexert himself in situations.”
While all of Leaf’s points make sense, it sure sounds like Garoppolo will be an in-demand man this spring, as Ian Rapoport detailed during the pre-Super Bowl media rounds.
The 49ers Won’t be Jimmy Garoppolo’s Only Suitor
Speaking with, ironically enough, Maiocco and Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area’s 49ers Talk podcast, Rapoport was asked about which other teams could have interest in Garoppolo heading into 2023, and needless to say, the list features more names than simply San Francisco.
“A couple spots that stand out to me, obviously the [New York] Jets,” Rapoport said. “And I know they don’t run exactly his system — like [coach] Mike LaFleur is not there, that would’ve been easy — that would’ve made some sense. But there’s still a lot of similarities, [coach] Nathaniel Hackett will be there. Of course, there are similarities between the two systems. The Jets make sense.”
“The Panthers make some sense. The Tennessee Titans, depending on what they end up doing with Ryan Tannehill, they make some sense. What about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? That Tom Brady system in there, Jimmy knows it well, I think that would make some sense, too. He’s going to have a lot of suitors, and I think he’s going to do really well.”
Between the Jets, the Panthers, the Titans, the Buccaneers, and the Houston Texans, who Rapoport didn’t mention but have been a popular landing spot since the hiring of DeMeco Ryans, it’s clear Garoppolo is going to be an in-demand man come March. Unless the market seriously adjusts before the start of the 2023 NFL calendar year, it’s clear Leaf’s suggested reunion in Santa Clara may simply be out of the cards.
Comments
Pac-12 Legend Makes Surprising Case for 49ers’ 2023 Quarterback