49ers' decision to draft Trey Lance made the 2021 season 'real awkward' for Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy Garoppolo didn't deny it: The season the San Francisco 49ers traded up to select Trey Lance with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft was strange.
Ahead of a Week 1 preseason match with Garoppolo's former team, the now-Las Vegas Raiders quarterback reflected on his past two years with the 49ers in a conversation with the San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Silver. Garoppolo called the 2022 season "a wild year" but said the season the 49ers drafted Lance was worse.
“Yeah, the year before was real awkward,” Garoppolo said. “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."
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Garoppolo led the 49ers to the NFC title game with a rookie Lance as his backup in 2021, two years after he led them to the Super Bowl.
Garoppolo was subject to trade speculation during the 2022 offseason before the 49ers decided to keep him, though this time as Lance's backup. Garoppolo replaced Lance in Week 2 after Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury before he himself was replaced by seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy in Week 13 due to a foot injury.
Purdy is now expected to be the team's Week 1starting quarterback in 2023, with either Lance or Sam Darnold as his backup.
After San Francisco lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game this past season, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan categorically closed the door on a Garoppolo return in 2023. He told reporters "I don't see any scenario of that."
That left Garoppolo's future wide open as the quarterback hit free agency. He was linked to the New York Jets this offseason — who eventually traded for Aaron Rodgers — before he signed with the Raiders and reunited with former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Still, it's been a rocky offseason for Garoppolo after reports surfaced he hadn't healed from foot surgery yet. But he passed his physical and avoided the physically unable to perform list, which puts Garoppolo on track to start.
Garoppolo's veteran presence doesn't mean the Raiders are primed for a big rebound after 6-11 season in 2022. Garoppolo was only fully healthy in two of his five full seasons in San Francisco. The Raiders also have a huge question mark at running back as Josh Jacobs continues to hold out.
But at the very least, Garoppolo won't have a young quarterback breathing down his neck all season.
