Why you shouldn’t have second thoughts about Jimmy Garoppolo
There’s a lot of Jimmy Garoppolo envy out there, right now. Don’t fall into that trap. Be happy that the Chicago Bears have Mitch Trubisky.
If you listen to the Chicago radio stations or read some of the articles from the Chicago Bears’ beat writers, you’ll come away thinking that general manager Ryan Pace got the quarterback position all wrong. They’ll say that the Bears should have gotten Jimmy Garoppolo because of how well he is playing. I’m usually all for the argument that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this Garoppolo stuff has me really fired up.
Garoppolo has played well, there’s no doubt about it, but he should! He’s a quarterback that is already in his fourth season in the NFL. If he wasn’t playing this well, I’d be concerned. The 49ers have won four games in a row, since he took over. Congrats, San Francisco, you may just play yourself out of a needed top-ten pick. This includes a win over our Chicago Bears.
Garoppolo completed 26 of 37 passes for 293 yards, while throwing zero touchdowns and one interception against an injured Chicago Bears squad that couldn’t apply any consistent pass rush, which led to open receivers all game long. Yet, the 49ers still couldn’t score a touchdown! Robbie Gould had to kick five field goals to save them. In fact, over a three game span, the 49ers needed Gould to make 15 field goals over three games! Yet, Garoppolo gets all the credit for being the next Joe Montana?
We should all feel happy about Mitch Trubisky. Garoppolo sat behind future hall-of-famer Tom Brady. Trubisky sat behind Mike Glennon. Garoppolo was able to learn from Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick and, now, Kyle Shanahan. Meanwhile, Trubisky is coached by Dowell Loggains and John Fox. When Fox is fired, the next head coach could even help Trubisky become better than Garoppolo. Trubisky’s ceiling is so high.
Trubisky is 23, which is three years younger than Garoppolo. Also, he’s about to be a lot cheaper. Trubisky’s contract will pay him a total of $29 million over the first four years with a $19.25 million signing bonus, according to Spoctrac. Don’t forget about the important fifth-year option, too. Garoppolo’s contract is expiring and it’s very possible that he could get paid $25 million per season.
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This difference in money gives the Chicago Bears and Pace the opportunity to really go all out for a possible championship window from 2018-2021. It’s crucial to take advantage of rookie quarterbacks on rookie deals. Look at what happened with Russell Wilson. Now that he’s been paid, the Seattle championship window may be finally closed. Are the Detroit Lions going to the Super Bowl after Stafford signed his $135 million contract? They couldn’t even win a playoff game before Stafford’s new deal.
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So, keep all of this in mind this off-season, which I’m sure will be all 49ers hype. When Garoppolo signs a possible record-setting deal, think about how how hard it is to win with highly paid quarterbacks. There’s a reason why it seems like Tom Brady takes a pay cut every season.