What is Jimmy Garoppolo’s Legacy With the 49ers?

After over five years spent with the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo has officially made his exit from the team. Garoppolo will now be the starter for the Raiders after he signed a three-year deal for $67.5 million.

Garoppolo provided a lot of hope for the 49ers when he was acquired back in 2017. Desperate for a legitimate starting quarterback, the five game winning streak that the 49ers finished the season on convinced them that he was their franchise guy. A lot of success is attached to Garoppolo despite it not being a direct cause to his performances. Regardless, the 49ers went from the gutter to being playoff contenders with him.

So, what is the legacy that Garoppolo leaves behind with the 49ers?

The legacy he leaves is an unfulfilled one. He couldn’t fulfill any adequate playoff performances. He couldn’t fulfill a Super Bowl victory in 2019. The playoffs to Garoppolo have always been an amusement park for him. He's just there for the ride that the team takes him on as he contributes little to nothing.

The worst part of all is that he couldn’t fulfill an entire season on numerous occasions. Really, the legacy and impact he leaves on the 49ers is an exponential increased valuation for a backup quarterback. Never before has a team, until this past 2022 season, had such an emphasis on the backup quarterback position.

It wasn’t until the 2020 season that the need for a backup quarterback was so coveted. When you miss as many games and fail to finish multiple seasons like Garoppolo did, it forces a team into seeking a luxury upgrade like at backup quarterback. That ended up becoming the norm with the 49ers and that isn't optimal. Thankfully, the 49ers realized that their best course of action was to upgrade and move on from Garoppolo.

Garoppolo also managed to prop up quarterback wins more than they should be. All the success tied with Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers was always pointed toward him. It was really a disrespect to the coaching job and the rest of the star players on the team. No longer will this be a topic of discussion and now there will be a good comparison with Garoppolo leaving to see if he really deserved all that credit.

The run with Garoppolo was fun, but the 49ers are better off moving on with Trey Lance and Brock Purdy.