GETTY San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo warms up.
Cris Carter did not make a lot of San Francisco 49ers fans happy with his latest take about Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Niners quarterback is currently recovering from a UCL sprain in his thumb, which led rookie Trey Lance to start in last weekend’s 23-7 win over the Houston Texans. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week that Jimmy G will start in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams if he’s healthy.
On Friday, NFL Hall of Famer and NFL Network personality Cris Carter blasted Garoppolo over the way he’s handled his injuries in San Francisco. For the legendary receiver, what he’s seen from Garoppolo is a far cry from his former mentor with the New England Patriots, Tom Brady.
Chris Carter sharing his thoughts on all the talk about Jimmy Garoppolo’s injured thumb. 😬
“Year ago when Tom Brady injured his hand, we heard nothing about it. We asked Tom were there any problems. No, hand’s okay,” Carter begins before mocking Garoppolo with a crying voice. “‘Ahh, I threw a pass yesterday and the wind…’ Very, very different and it’s strange. He grew up in New England, now he’s in San Francisco. To me, it was just eye-opening.”
It’s certainly a charged moment to say the least from Carter. As one might expect, many 49ers fans responded to the rant online.
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49ers Fans Sound Off on Carter
Carter’s comments appear to be in relation to Garoppolo’s quote this earlier week when he was asked about how it feels throwing a pass with the injury.
Jimmy Garoppolo on what it feels like to throw with a Grade 3 UCL tear in his thumb:
“It, f**k… it hurts.”
@therealusedgoat addressed both Garoppolo’s quote and Carter’s response in their reply.
“Jimmy honestly answers a question about something objectively more painful and it is compared to a cut in a place where players weren’t really allowed to be honest. Carter has many videos of him crying, seems odd that he is being fake tough guy. Could hear @gmfb hosts agreeing.”
Another user thinks the comparison to Brady is also useless and that the current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback would’ve talked about the injury.
“I’ve never liked Chris [sic] Carter,” @SwanSongNC wrote. “I’m sure even the great Tom Brady would have complained about this injury and I don’t even like Jimmy.”
Similar to the above, @lipobruh isn’t even a supporter of Jimmy G but thinks Carter was out of bounds.
“I’m fed up with Jimmy but Chris [sic] reachin. Nothing soft bout answerin a question.”
@theegibster referenced Carter’s drug addiction struggles early on in his playing career while pointing out the same criticism hasn’t been pointed at Rams quarterback Matt Stafford.
“Chris is on crack again. Let’s look at Stafford when the same thing happened to him no one questions Stafford toughness.”
Garoppolo Practices on Friday
While Carter may not be happy with Garoppolo’s comments on his injury, it appears as if he and San Francisco are preparing as if he’ll start on Sunday.
NBC Sports reporter Matt Maiocco shared video of Jimmy G and the Niners offense working together during Friday’s practice.
Jimmy Garoppolo is at #49ers practice and looking likely to be the man on Sunday. And in what has to cause some level of concern, Trent Williams (elbow) is not at practice.
t.co/XZ2aBviJVl
Garoppolo was always the plan for the 49ers, and it makes sense to want the 29-year-old running the show considering his and the team’s recent track record against the Rams. The 49ers have won the last five meetings, and Jimmy has started in four of those.