If you're going to ask former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, the team must keep Jimmy Garoppolo as starter over the young Trey Lance next season.
His reasoning is simple: Garoppolo allows the 49ers to win, and that should matter more. Besides, the veteran QB is just 30 years old and still has a lot left in his tank. The current Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB also used Aaron Rodgers as an example of how Lance can benefit from waiting and learning the ins and outs of the professional game before taking over.
Rodgers didn't start for the Green Bay Packers until his fourth year in the league, staying in the shadows of Brett Favre until the 2007 season.
“I think he should be the starter again,” Sherman said of Garoppolo in the latest episode of his podcast, via NBC Sports. “People forget that Aaron [Rodgers] didn't start his first year and didn't start his second year. They're so ready to rush him in there and they're rushing him in there with expectation and that's the hardest thing to do because everybody's like ‘look what Josh Allen did' and it's like Josh Allen's first couple years he wasn't this Josh Allen. Then it's like ‘look at Patrick Mahomes' and it's like yeah but Patrick Mahomes had his growing pains as well and it's cool what he's doing, but if you send him in with those expectations, you have nothing but disappointment.”
Richard Sherman also made it a point to emphasize that Trey Lance won't exactly be the savior that some 49ers fans make him out to be. He pointed out that there will be growing pains for him and he won't be perfect right from the bat, which is an unfair burden to put on a young quarterback.
“Jimmy is winning ball games, Jimmy has a winning record and has won games and got you to the playoffs again. It's a lack of appreciation and it's really sad because the appreciation isn't going to start when Trey [Lance] starts playing quarterback, because you're not even appreciating winning. Some of these fans aren't even appreciating the win,” Sherman further commented on the 49ers.
“So when you sit there and say that — and they're saying that as if they would expect Trey to come in and be perfect and that's unfair to Trey.”
Sure enough, Jimmy Garoppolo has shut down his critics with his performance for the 49ers in their win over the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. While he was unable to throw for a touchdown and struggled a bit, he was also pivotal in dissecting the Dallas defense to allow their offense to flourish and escape with a W in a rough environment.
Garoppolo will heave a chance to prove himself once more when the 49ers face Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the divisional round on Saturday. It might be a tall order, but if he does lead the San Francisco franchise to victory, then he'll likely change the mind of those doubting whether he should be a starter or not.
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