Getty Jimmy Garoppolo on November 27 versus New Orleans.
Here’s what fans of the San Francisco 49ers officially know as of Wednesday, February 1 via Kyle Shanahan: Someone else will officially wear No. 10 in 2023.
Shanahan told reporters that he “doesn’t see any scenario” of Garoppolo returning to the 49ers. With that, theories of where Jimmy G could land began to sprout. But, CBS Sports NFL analyst Tyler Sullivan revealed this “poetic” scenario on Wednesday afternoon: Garoppolo heads to a place that just lost its own quarterback — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, now officially dealing with Tom Brady announcing his retirement for a second time.
“This would be poetic, wouldn’t it? Garoppolo was drafted by the New England Patriots back in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft to be the successor to Tom Brady. With Brady now officially retired from the NFL, it’d be a weird twist of fate to see Garoppolo ultimately fulfill that destiny, but for the Buccaneers,” Sullivan wrote.
Further Context on Why Jimmy G to Tampa Bay Could Work
By now, NFL fans know the story and relationship Garoppolo and Brady had during their days with the New England Patriots. Brady, though, wound up lasting longer with the Pats as Garoppolo was dealt away before the 2017 season.
Now it’s a different scenario involving Brady and the Bucs. They’re having to replace a QB who not only guided them to back-to-back NFC South titles, but led them to their second Super Bowl win. But the Bucs and head coach Todd Bowles are now faced with this option: Go younger? Or stay with the theme of getting a past multiple Super Bowl winner to lead your franchise?
“Really, an addition of Garoppolo for Tampa Bay comes down to which way the franchise feels like going. Does it feel like it is a capable quarterback away from continued success in the NFC South? If so, then Garoppolo could be an ideal target,” Sullivan wrote.
But, Sullivan adds “If the Bucs are looking to rip things down to the studs and rebuild the organization from the ground-up post-Brady, they may want to look elsewhere and that may be a situation that Garoppolo wouldn’t want to sign up for.”
Still, the Bucs are the latest to emerge as a strong suitor now that the 49ers officially will depart from Garoppolo, who is an unrestricted free agent and will become available effective March 15.
“If they stand pat, jumping into a situation that features Mike Evans and Chris Godwin wouldn’t be a bad landing spot for Garoppolo. That’s particularly true when you consider the pass-catching weapons that he’d be playing with and slotting himself into what was the worst division in football last year. If things stay the same in that regard in 2023, he could have an easier road to the postseason,” Sullivan writes.
Another Team Tied to Brady Called a Suitor for Jimmy G
There’s one more team tied to Brady that Sullivan calls a suitor — and it’s a franchise Brady never played for but was linked to as a possible destination in 2023: The Las Vegas Raiders.
Brady’s name was attached to Vegas off his lengthy past with Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, his former offensive coordinator with the Pats. The Raiders now are mentioned as a possible suitor for Garoppolo.
“He played in McDaniels’ system and thrived in his brief showing as the starter,” Sullivan said. “In the two games he played while Brady was serving his “Deflategate” suspension, Garoppolo completed 71% of his passes, threw for 496 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Again, that’s a small sample size, but he is very familiar with McDaniels’ system and McDaniels is very familiar with him. If Vegas can’t get Brady now that he’s retired, Garoppolo may be the next best thing as they move off of Derek Carr.”