Will Jimmy Garoppolo Really Help Trey Lance Take His Job?

This is rich.

Jimmy Garoppolo went on ESPN radio recently and essentially said he will help develop Trey Lance so Lance can take his job. And Garoppolo laid it on thick. You would have thought he was bearing his soul, not merely repeating the company line.

First, he invoked Tom Brady.

"Tom kind of showed me the ropes, Garoppolo said. "The competition between us was awesome. It really made me grow as a rookie and as a young player. So, that's kind of what me and Trey, we'll mold our relationship into that."

Next, Garoppolo talked about how he shares a common background with Lance, which will help Garoppolo accelerate Lance's growth.

"I try to use my own personal experiences and just what I went through, what helped me, what challenged me as a young player," Garoppolo said. "I'm going to use those tools that helped me and try to help Trey out. It's hard to come into this league; I know how it was coming from an FCS school to the NFL. It's a bit of an adjustment, the speed, whatever you want to call it, it's just different. So, whatever I can do to help him, I'll be more than happy."

More than happy, huh?

That's baloney. That's propaganda. That's P.R. That's what teams and players say, not how they work. And what's more, it's not how human beings work.

If I were the starting quarterback, and the 49ers traded up to get Lance, I might be polite to him, but I doubt I would like him much, and I wouldn't go out of my way to help him take my job. It's just not human nature.

What would Brady do?

We know what he would do. He was supposed to be Jimmy Garoppolo's "mentor" in New England. And certainly Brady mentored him -- mentored him out the door.

That's what Garoppolo will try to do to Lance. Because they're professional athletes.

Pay no attention to the words Garoppolo says.