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When Richard Sherman was in the middle of his career renaissance with the San Francisco 49ers, his teammate was Jimmy Garoppolo.
The now 34-year-old corner was a key part of the 49ers’ 2019 season, being selected to the Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro as the Niners fell just short in the end. Sherman ended up departing from San Francisco after the 2020 season, but there’s no question that he was a valued piece of the team while a 49er.
Sherman is currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, although he’ll be missing the playoffs and on injured reserve. In the meantime, he’s been continuing his podcast, The Richard Sherman Podcast on Pro Football Focus. In Wednesday’s episode, the topic of Garoppolo and the 49ers came up and Sherman dropped his stance on the team’s current QB situation.
“I definitely do, I think he should be the starter again [next year],” Sherman said. “People forget that [Green Bay Packers quarterback] Aaron [Rodgers] didn’t start his first year, didn’t start his second year. They’re so ready to rush [Trey Lance] in there and they’re rushing him in there with expectations. That’s the hardest thing to do.”
Further, the former 49er thinks the franchise needs to stick with Jimmy G due to his ability to consistently win games and the familiarity he has in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. For Sherman, it’s not a diss of what Lance’s ability is, it’s a case of making sure he’s ready to succeed when it comes time to start him week after week.
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Sherman References Other Successful Quarterbacks
As Sherman continued to discuss the topic, he listed off another couple of quarterbacks after bringing up Rodgers initially. The former Stanford Cardinal brought up some of the NFL’s best passers as examples.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Well look what [Buffalo Bills quarterback] Josh Allen did?’ Well, it’s like, Josh Allen’s first couple years, he wasn’t this Josh Allen. And then it’s like, look at [Kansas City Chiefs quarterback] Patrick Mahomes? Yeah but Patrick Mahomes had his growing pains as well and it’s cool what he’s doing, but if you send [Lance] in with those expectations you have nothing but disappointment.”
If Lance hits the heights that Mahomes or Allen has hit in the past couple seasons, the 49ers will feel very good about their decision to go with the North Dakota State product. And as Sherman mentioned, Rodgers, Mahomes and Allen all sat or struggled before becoming All-Pro caliber QBs.
Garoppolo Status for Sunday
Speaking of Rodgers, the 49ers are set to take on the QB and Green Bay on Saturday in the NFC Divisional Round. However, Garoppolo’s status is uncertain for the game after he suffered a shoulder sprain in the 23-17 Wild Card round win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Jimmy G did practice on Tuesday, albeit in a limited capacity and in a walk-thru setting.
While FS1’s Jason McIntyre said that he could miss out, Shanahan also said on Monday that he expects Garoppolo to be good to go. However, with two injuries messing with his throwing arm, the possibility of Jimmy G being inactive can’t be ruled out.
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