The San Francisco 49ers made a run at hometown hero Tom Brady this offseason prior to sticking with Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback of the future.
But the pursuit of Brady is merely water under the bridge for Garoppolo and Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan said he was able to have an open and amicable conversation with Garoppolo, also saying the signal-caller is driven to join the ranks of elite quarterbacks like Brady, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
“Totally. Definitely. Jimmy’s an easy guy to talk to about that type of stuff,” Shanahan said. “Jimmy and I are pretty honest with each other. I told him exactly really what I’ve told you. And it’s also fun to talk to him about this type of stuff. ‘Cause I mean, he worked with Tom. He knows how great Tom is. Jimmy wants to get to there. And it’s important to me that he does, too. I would love to have something like what [Bill] Belichick and Tom have had out there. Those are my expectations. It’s cool when something like this comes up that leads to conversations that Jimmy and I have had. And he knows those are my expectations and it’s cool that I know that they’re his, also.”
The Niners signed Garoppolo to a five-year, $137.5 million contract in February of 2018 after he led San Francisco to an undefeated record in their last five games of 2017.
But Garappolo was injured in the third game of the 2018 campaign, leading to a lost season. He returned in 2019, going 13-3 while throwing for close to 4,000 yards and 27 touchdowns, leading the Niners to the Super Bowl in the process.
Despite some underwhelming play in the playoffs (notably the Super Bowl), the Niners are committed to Garappolo under center.
To his credit, Garoppolo led the NFL with four comeback victories. He might not be Brady, but he did experience Brady's tutelage, and still desires to reach that level.
In any case, it is inherently positive that Shanahan and Garoppolo can have a frank conversation about such matters.
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