Can the 49ers Still be Successful With Jimmy Garoppolo?

Upgrading from Jimmy Garoppolo for the San Francisco 49ers is easier said than done.

Considering how much of a gamble it would take for the 49ers to enact on that, I wouldn't hold my breathe on a new quarterback in 2021. They just don't like to take an overabundance of risk. On Saturday, I explained why you should expect Garoppolo back with the 49ers.

So since he will be back, can the 49ers still be successful with him?

No, they cannot. Success for the 49ers isn't simply having a winning record or making the playoffs. The 49ers' floor in 2021 is making the NFC title game. Anything less than that should be deemed a failure. I just can't see Garoppolo being able to do enough to push the 49ers toward that level.

Now I know what some of you may be thinking. Garoppolo was able to help the 49ers get to Super Bowl in 2019. But what gets completely overlooked is how perfect the 49ers were in 2019. Their defense was registering historic numbers along with an absurd running game and solidified offensive line.

Flip the page to the 2021 offseason for the 49ers, and you will see that they have a ton of questions surrounding the team. Their interior offensive line is more questionable than ever, they will lose an abundance of talent on defense, and Robert Saleh is no longer the defensive coordinator. The 49ers can still be great in 2021, but that means Garoppolo will have to do more. He will have to be an uplifting figure more consistently than he was in 2019, which only showed up for a few games.

With Garoppolo under center, the 49ers are able to run their offense sufficiently. That is more of a testament to Kyle Shanahan and the talent around Garoppolo than anything else. The 49ers need more from the quarterback position. Shanahan can't always put on his cape and be Superman for Garoppolo. There are going to be times where he just has to be the reason why the 49ers are threatening.

Even if you do bring up 2019 as an arguing point for the 49ers being successful with Garoppolo, he had an outlier season. Can you guess why it was an outlier? Because he was actually healthy for every game. That was his first and only healthy season, so even if there is some magical world where Garoppolo improves upon himself talentwise, he is still an injury waiting to happen.

In 2021, every 49ers fan, player and coach will cringe whenever they see Garoppolo take a hit. That is not normal. No one should ever feel that way about their starting quarterback. A team cannot be successful when the quarterback struggles to find the field.

And that is ultimately why the 49ers will not be successful with Garoppolo in 2021.