It should come as no surprise that Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't thrilled when the San Francisco 49ers traded up to select Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 49ers had gone all-in on finding Jimmy Garoppolo's replacement, and he was expected to be San Francisco's starting quarterback for another season.

The 49ers drafted Lance a little over a year after Garoppolo took them to the brink of winning a Super Bowl championship. With Garoppolo looking over his shoulder during the 2021 campaign, the 49ers reached the doorstep of yet another Super Bowl appearance. The eventual champion Los Angeles Rams beat San Francisco by a field goal in the NFC Championship Game.

Lance was named the starter for the 2022 season, and Garoppolo stayed on as the backup. The veteran took over for his replacement when Lance suffered a broken ankle. Garoppolo's season ended a few months later because of a broken foot.

Despite starting 2022 on the bench and suffering another season-ending injury, Garoppolo found 2021 to be the more difficult year.

“Yeah, the year before was real awkward,” Garoppolo told the San Francisco Chronicle. “That was tougher than this past year, honestly. You’re always gonna be dealt a hard hand at some point, and you’ve just got to make the best of it, and that’s what I’ve tried to do. That was a hard time. But I had some good people around me to lean on. The brothers in the locker room, those guys played a big role. I don’t think the fans always saw all that stuff, but those guys really picked me up when I was down sometimes.

“That’s why I love those guys in the locker room. All the crap that we went through for four to five years, whatever it was, we all stayed together in the locker room, and I thought that’s what made us such a tight group.”

Garoppolo had a 38-17 record and a 99.2 passer rating as the 49ers' starting quarterback.

Garoppolo signed with the Raiders this past offseason to be their starter, Lance is likely going to be the 49ers' backup quarterback, once again. He might even end up third on San Francisco's depth chart behind Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold.

The 49ers and Raiders will meet Sunday in their 2023 preseason opener.