Where Will Jimmy Garoppolo Be In Five Years?
Jimmy Garoppolo has become the most interesting person on the 49ers.
He's the player this season with the most at stake, the most to lose. He used to be a franchise quarterback, but now he's getting replaced in the draft by a rookie. How will he respond? Where will he be in five years?
There are only three possibilities:
A. Garoppolo will be a starting quarterback in the NFL, either for the 49ers or some other team.
B. Garoppolo will be a backup quarterback in the NFL, either for the 49ers or some other team.
C. Garoppolo will be out of the league.
I'm going with Option C. Out of the league.
If Garoppolo could stay healthy, he could reestablish himself as starter material, because he's pretty good when he's healthy.
But he can't protect himself on an NFL field anymore. He has some of the heaviest feet a 49ers quarterback has ever had, so he can't scramble or avoid contact. He's a sitting duck who also makes slow decisions, which means he's an injury waiting to happen.
Garoppolo might get a couple more chances to lead a team, but he most likely will give the job away when he gets hurt. And then he'll stop getting chances to play. And he'll have to decide whether he wants to stay in the league as backup, like Brian Hoyer, another former Tom Brady understudy.
Why would Garoppolo want Hoyer's career?
Garoppolo is rich -- he has made $90 million. He doesn't need to be a backup. Does he love football enough to carry a clipboard for a living when he doesn't even have to work any more? Does he have the fire to prove himself the way Steve Young and Joe Montana did? Or will Garoppolo give up?
I think he'll give up.
He'll be out of the league in five years.
I'm calling it now.
