Jimmy Garoppolo started his first 49ers game Sunday in Chicago against the Bears, and came away with a tight 15-14 victory. In the process, he helped improve the 49ers’ record to 2-10 on the season.
Garoppolo’s performance was widely regarded as exemplary, particularly with regard to the final drive of the game, in which he went 5-of-6 for 54 yards and bled the clock from 5:27 down to just a few seconds, setting up a game-winning chip-shot field goal for 49ers’ placekicker Robbie Gould.
NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport appeared on Murph & Mac Monday morning, and discussed if it would be wise to pump the brakes on the Jimmy Garoppolo hype train.
“No, I don’t think so,” Rapoport said. “I mean, I’m not saying Jimmy G’s going, like, to the Hall of Fame or anything, but that’s kind of what it looks like, you know? And I think there was a lot that went into yesterday, first of all, you know, everything he did, including helping the team on a game-winning drive and ended up, you know, leading to the field goal at the end, was with a limited playbook, with a limited game plan, a couple weeks in the offense, obviously he had to get rid of it quick because of the offensive line issues and the other talent issues on the team, but that’s kind of what it’s supposed to be like.”
The conversation soon turned to the possibility of the 49ers’ signing Garoppolo to a long-term deal, which Rapoport indicated would likely be something both sides would pursue. He added that the yearly value of the deal should be close to what Garoppolo would earn under the franchise tag, and that the 49ers will have to make the first move when it comes to initiating discussions of an extension.
“(I) think you’d like it to be a long-term deal situation,” Rapoport said. “But obviously, when you negotiate these deals, the reason why the franchise tag is supposed to exist is basically because it’s a placeholder for a team to try to get a long-term deal. So you say, we’re locking him in, and based around this number, we’re going to try to strike a deal. And that’s–we see it every July 15, when teams have players on the tag (that) end up doing deals that are basically like the average of the tag over three or four or five years, however much it is. It’s–that’s like the baseline for a deal. So, the 49ers are generally pretty proactive. I know that Jimmy Garoppolo’s agents have done plenty of deals. They’ve been proactive as well. I think the two sides will probably like to talk early, in advance of the tag, and see if you can get something going. Obviously, the Niners are going to have to make the first move. No player agent is going to make the first move to try to get a deal. But I think they’d like to get a deal done before the actual franchise tag deadline, but based around what the number would be.”
Listen to the interview below. To hear Rapoport’s comments on Jimmy G and the 49ers, skip to the 0:15 mark.