Jimmy Garoppolo was able to start in all 16 games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2019, doing so for the first time in his career. After Garoppolo's career year a season ago, Kyle Shanahan believes the 28-year-old quarterback is ‘just getting started'.

While answering questions in an interview on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast, Shanahan spoke about Garoppolo's potential with the 49ers:

“My [message] to Jimmy is that you're just getting started,” Shanahan responded. “Last year was your first year playing quarterback for a whole season. You never had longer than a [five]-game stretch. Last year, you got 16, and look how good you did. Look how far we got. And, oh my God, we almost got all the way.”

In his first two seasons with the 49ers, Garoppolo started in a total of eight games. This was due to a season-ending knee injury in 2018 and having just been traded to San Francisco in 2017.

Even though Garoppolo isn't considered a young quarterback, Shanahan believes there's plenty of room for growth for him with the 49ers.

“But that's not the finished product, and that's how I feel about everything,” Shanahan continued. “I feel it about myself. I feel it about our team. Like, guys, we didn't just almost get there; we're still going, and you have to get better.

“And what I like about our team is, when I'm talking about Jimmy, how can he not get better? He's played one season. That's just the starting point.”

With Garoppolo starting in all 16 games in 2019, the 49ers were able to advance to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Garoppolo was unable to lead San Francisco to a victory in the Super Bowl, losing the game 31-20.

Throughout the offseason, plenty of people have pitted the Super Bowl defeat on Garoppolo's play under center. Despite the Garoppolo and the team's shortcomings versus the Kansas City Chiefs in February, Shanahan has a positive outlook on his quarterback entering the 2020 season for the 49ers.