Jimmy Garoppolo

49ers To Start Jimmy Garoppolo In Week 13

November 28th, 2017 at 5:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a brief cameo caused by a C.J. Beathard injury, Jimmy Garoppolo will begin his tenure as the 49ers’ starter.

Kyle Shanahan notified the quarterbacks Garoppolo will start against the Bears, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports (on Twitter). This will mark only Garoppolo’s third career start, but it could well be the first of many as a 49er. Shanahan announced the move, and it looks like Garoppolo will have a five-game sample upon which to judge going into the offseason.

Shanahan and John Lynch have been openly cautious about deploying their recently acquired passer, but management appears ready to begin the experiment. While they’ve made it clear this isn’t an audition, with the franchise tag being the likely offseason outcome to further judge if Garoppolo is the long-term solution, the franchise will begin to see if its quarterback of the future is presently on the team.

Garoppolo has thrown 96 career passes, being 2-for-2 with a touchdown toss as a 49er, but has only played one game from start to finish — the 2016 Patriots opener against the Cardinals. He suffered an injury against the Dolphins the following week.

This game being at Soldier Field will mark a unique moment for the Eastern Illinois-developed quarterback; Garoppolo grew up in nearby Arlington Heights, Ill.

Beathard started the previous five games for the 49ers, who acquired Garoppolo midway through that stretch. The rookie suffered knee and hip injuries against the Seahawks and may not have been able to go this week anyway. He figures to return to the backup role he occupied when the season began. Beathard completed 55 percent of his passes and has a 4-to-6 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio for the 1-10 team.

49ers QB Decision Expected On Wednesday

November 27th, 2017 at 6:32pm CST by GregGoldstein

Jimmy Garoppolo performed very well in his limited action after he replaced the injured C.J. Beathard with about a minute left in the game. However, Beathard’s injury will not keep him out for the long-term and the 49ers expect to name their Week 13 starter by Wednesday, reports Matt Maiocco of NBCSports.com.

Beathard suffered a knee contusion and a hip strain during yesterday’s matchup, according to Maiocco. That may ultimately have the largest impact on whether the rookie signal caller gets the start on Sunday vs. Chicago. It’s worth pointing out that head coach Kyle Shanahan said during yesterday’s postgame presser that he didn’t even think about replacing Beathard before the injury occurred.

This development shouldn’t be a surprise as Shanahan had already been non-committal about who his quarterback moving forward would be after yesterday’s loss to the Seahawks.

Most fans would probably like to see Garoppolo start given his quality play yesterday and the fact that the front office did make a move to acquire the impending free agent in the middle of the season. Still, it is notable that Shanahan has not given into the bait and played his new QB, as he likely wants to make sure that Garoppolo is ready to be successful when he does eventually see the field.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Fox, Reed, Fisher

November 26th, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by GregGoldstein

It was a long awaited day for 49ers fans, as they got their first look at newly acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in today’s loss to the Seahawks. The former Pats backup signal caller got into the game because rookie starter C.J. Beathard was forced to exit with an injury. Garoppolo made good use of his mild playing time, throwing a nice touchdown pass as time expired.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan chose not to shed much light on how he’s thinking about the QB position moving forward. Although, he did mention that Beathard’s leg injury was not too serious, reports Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). While Beathard’s injury does not appear to affect his playing status moving forward, he will get additional testing tomorrow. Nevertheless, it’s notable that Shanahan wouldn’t commit to a starter for Week 13 either way, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). However, Barrows did also tweet that the 49ers coach didn’t think about pulling his rookie starter while he was healthy.

It’ll be a tough decision considering the way Garoppolo played when he entered the game and the high pick the front office gave up to get him. Shanahan hasn’t caved into public pressure as of yet, so it’s a decision that seems to remain truly up in the air.

If the Bears fire John Fox this offseason, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com believes that Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo should be considered for the job. DeFilippo would be an out-of-the-box hire since he is not a coordinator, but the feeling in Philadelphia is that no one has been more instrumental in Carson Wentz‘s development than the 39-year-old. It’s possible that DeFilippo could be the guy to help rookie QB Mitch Trubisky reach his full potential. And, with anywhere from 7-10 teams potentially looking for a new head coach this offseason, DeFilippo can be expected to draw some interest.
Redskins star tight end Jordan Reed has missed a lot of time in 2017 and looks to miss another game in Week 13, according to John Keim of ESPN.com. Keim notes that Reed didn’t practice or do any side running today as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Coach Jay Gruden confirmed that Reed would be held out for the next few days as well. “We’re going to take off that part of it here for a couple days, see where he’s at,” Gruden said. While there will still be some time for Reed to get on the field after, it’s tough to expect him to heal quick enough to be effective in game action considering his past injury problems.
With the Rams surging to an 8-3 record under first-year head coach Sean McVay, a lot of criticism has been tossed at former head coach Jeff Fisher for the way he handled the offense. Fisher appeared on the Amazon show All or Nothing over this past summer and expressed desire to get back on the sideline for the 2018-19 season. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines that despite Fisher’s recent track record, he does bring a ton of experience in the game and has the skills to impress in the interview room. Florio hears that his name has already “bubbled up” for coaching jobs, so there’s some potential for interest to come from the NFL as well. They’ll also be a number of coaching jobs open, both head coach and as a coordinator. It’ll be a tough sell considering what has transpired in Los Angeles this season, but Fisher is clearly still held in high regard among the football community, so anything is possible.

49ers Likely To Use Franchise Tag On Jimmy Garoppolo

November 25th, 2017 at 1:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers are continuing their patient approach to the handling of Jimmy Garoppolo, being set to keep him on the bench again this week. And the team’s wait-and-see strategy looks set to continue through next season.

During a radio interview, Kyle Shanahan said not only would be be fine if the team used its franchise tag on the quarterback. But the first-year HC essentially deemed that scenario more likely than the sides reaching a long-term extension before next season.

“I know you have to franchise a quarterback to keep him, but quarterbacks are expensive. And that is not that big of a deal to us,” Shanahan said in a KNBR segment (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).

“… It would be great if it could work out that way (a long-term contract), but that’s just not the situation any of us are in. So you want to play it out. That is the good thing about the franchise tag and that’s what, to me, made it an easier decision to trade for him at the time we did to where it’s – I don’t want to do anything very impulsive that could put our team at risk.”

A Garoppolo tag would cost the team more than $23MM next season. The current No. 2 Niners signal-caller is playing out the final season of his rookie deal at $821K. San Francisco can handle this substantial markup, though, in being projected to possess a league-most $60.6MM in 2018 cap space. Considering the team’s new decision-makers have discussed the acquisition of a potential franchise quarterback at just about every turn this offseason, putting a $23MM-plus salary on the 2018 books wouldn’t be too much of a setback to determine if Garoppolo is that player.

No current 49er is set to have even an eight-figure cap number next season. Pierre Garcon‘s $9.36MM tops the rebuilding team’s list. A Garoppolo tag would be the most money the 49ers have ever paid for a quarterback in one season.

Shanahan views the 49ers’ current situation — making a medium-scale bet on a possible high-ceiling passer, one that has yet to throw 100 NFL passes — as ideal for a tag.

“That’s what’s cool about having something like (the franchise tag): Hey, alright, I would love to have a guy like that, especially for only a second-round pick,” Shanahan said. “Definitely. Do we have to make a decision this fast for the future in terms of a long-term deal and everything? No, you don’t. If you do, and it works out, and you feel great about it, that’s awesome. But if not, that’s why the rules are the way they are.”

Regardless of Garoppolo’s 2017 performance, Shanahan said he won’t gauge it as much as he will 2018’s. The former second-round pick’s comfort within the confines of the 49ers’ offense will be higher by ’18, Shanahan said, helping to explain the organization’s patient stance presently.

“… It’s not something where you want to put all this pressure on him, on the organization, on the players around him where it’s like ‘Hey, we’re going to get this deal done, this long-term deal, you’ve got six games to prove it. You better go out there and do it or you won’t get what you think you’re worth,’” Shanahan said. “That’s not right to me for us. That’s not right for him.”

NFC Notes: Reed, Redskins, Lions, 49ers

November 22nd, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by Micah Powell

Just days after Terrelle Pryor was placed on season-ending injured reserve, the Redskins’ pass catchers received another blow on Wednesday. The team’s star tight end Jordan Reed was ruled out for the team’s Thanksgiving tilt with the Giants, according to Kimberly Martin of the Washington Post (Twitter link).

The oft-injured Reed, who was labeled as questionable by head coach Jay Gruden an hour before the announcement, will miss his sixth game of the year. Reed also missed four games in 2016 and two during his breakout 2015 season.

There are few better tight ends than Reed when he is on the field. Of the 11 players at his position to record 250 receptions since 2013, he is the only one to average at least five receptions per game. The team will once again turn to Vernon Davis in the division clash on Thursday night.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

Though the 49ers will start C.J. Beathard again on Sunday, team general manager John Lynch is convinced Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be the team’s future starting quarterback writes Cam Inman of The Mercury News. “We really, genuinely believe that this guy’s got the makings of a guy who could be our guy for years to come,” Lynch said. “That’s all got to come to fruition on the field.”
Staying with San Francisco, Lynch also believes defensive end Arik Armstead has a bright future with the team despite missing 18 of 32 career games with an injury, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “We think he’s a fit with what we are and who we are going forward,” Lynch said. Though he is a fit, Armstead will need to find a way to stay on the field to stay in the 49ers’ plans.
Matt Prater has been the Lions’ most valuable free agent signing in the last five seasons, writes ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. Though he has stiff competition from Golden Tate and Glover Quin, the veteran kicker is without a doubt in the mix for the honor.

49ers To Stick With Beathard Vs. Seahawks

November 22nd, 2017 at 7:24pm CST by Micah Powell

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard will receive his fifth consecutive start when the team hosts Seattle on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). That means the recently acquired Jimmy Garoppolo will have to wait at least another week to receive his first snaps in San Francisco.

Though Shanahan said Garoppolo, who the team traded for before the deadline from the Patriots, is making progress, he doesn’t expect the quarterback to be fully up to speed in the team’s offense this season. “Is Jimmy going to be the best he can? To me, that’s impossible. He just hasn’t been here long enough. … I don’t think we’re going to see Jimmy’s best football, to be fair to him, until next year. Because that’s what guys need.”

Fans in the Bay Area might be ready to see what Garoppolo can do, but it is also tough to bench the third-round signal-caller just one game after he delivered the team’s first victory. In Week 10 vs. the Giants, Beathard completed 76 percent of his passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground.

San Francisco didn’t trade for the Eastern Illinois product for no reason, however, and the team is sure to give him a chance to show what he can do in Shanahan’s offense should Beathard make a misstep.

NFC Notes: Winston, 49ers, Cards, Pryor

November 17th, 2017 at 2:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

The woman who accused Jameis Winston of groping her in an Uber vehicle in 2016, via Buzzfeed report earlier today, said only she and Winston were in the car at the time. But Winston’s representatives assert there were several people in the car, with the Buccaneers quarterback sitting in the backseat, NFL.com reports. Winston’s statement pointed to there being multiple passengers in the vehicle as well. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) listened to the voicemail an Uber representative sent Winston, with the phrase “you or someone else in your vehicle engaged in inappropriate behavior” used. This led to Winston being banned from Uber but also has the third-year passer’s representatives saying there were more people in the car than the accuser’s account suggests.

Here’s the latest from the NFC.

The knee sprain Drew Stanton suffered will lead to the Cardinals starting a third quarterback this season. Bruce Arians said Blaine Gabbert will start Sunday against the Texans, marking the first time since October 2016 Gabbert will have started a game. Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com notes it will be a game-time decision for who will be Gabbert’s backup. Stanton, who sprained a knee against the Seahawks, being healthy enough to be an in-case-of-emergency option will make him the No. 2. If not, recently signed Matt Barkley will serve as the backup. This marks the second time in four seasons the Cardinals have needed to start three quarterbacks. This happened in 2014, when Carson Palmer, Stanton and Ryan Lindley opened with that playoff-qualifying team’s first unit.
John Lynch said the 49ers don’t need to see Jimmy Garoppolo start a certain number of games in order to make a judgment about him for the future. The rookie GM the franchise’s view of the longtime Patriots backup has been enhanced by Garoppolo’s first few weeks in San Francisco despite him not seeing game action yet. “We know what we like about Jimmy Garoppolo. And that’s only been strengthened by the time that’s he’s been here,” Lynch said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). “We’re just going to let these things play out. People have had all these ideas about why we got Jimmy. We got Jimmy because we think he has big-time ability at the quarterback position. And we believe so much – to get where we need to get – you have to have a franchise quarterback. We think he’s got that ability. Whether that happens, when that happens, we’ll see. But we certainly like his future with the 49ers.”
Both Terrelle Pryor and Jordan Reed will miss the Redskins‘ Week 11 against the Saints, and Pryor’s ankle injury looks like one that could shelve him for multiple weeks. Pryor will see Dr. James Andrews about his ankle, Master Tefatsion of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter). Signed to a one-year contract, Pryor has been demoted from Washington’s first unit and now hopes he can return this season — one that’s doubled as a grim contract year. Center Spencer Long will also miss Washington’s game in New Orleans.
On the subject of less-than-ideal contract years, Ziggy Ansah will miss a second straight game with a back injury, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports. Injuries have limited the Lions defensive end for the past two seasons and figure to be a key part of the discussion once his contract expires after 2017. He has four sacks — all coming in two games — this season.
Mike Remmers experienced a concussion protocol setback this week and will miss the Vikings‘ Week 11 game against the Rams, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Andrew Sendejo will also miss Sunday’s game, the safety being out due to groin and hamstring pain. Rashod Hill and Anthony Harris will respectively replace the ailing duo in Minnesota’s starting lineup.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Jones, 49ers

November 16th, 2017 at 1:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Jerry Jones will not forced out as the owner of the Cowboys, the owner of one team and others familiar with the situation tell Mark Maske of The Washington Post.

“I don’t know where this is coming from about stripping him of his franchise,” the anonymous owner said. “That’s ridiculous. That’s not going to happen.”

Two others with knowledge of the NFL’s inner workings told Maske the same thing. However, the aforementioned owner did note that Jones could be subject to a fine if he files a lawsuit. He also would face the prospect of paying attorney fees for both sides. That could be in reference to a “prevailing party” clause which stipulates that the losing side picks up everyone’s bill.

Here’s a look at the NFC:

The 49ers say there’s no rush to get newly-acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on the field. “We know what we like about Jimmy Garoppolo. And that’s only been strengthened by the time that’s he’s been here,” GM John Lynch said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). “We’re just going to let these things play out. That’s in Kyle’s hands. People have had all these ideas about why we got Jimmy. We got Jimmy because we think he has big-time ability at the quarterback position. And we believe so much – to get where we need to get – you have to have a franchise quarterback. We think he’s got that ability. Whether that happens, when that happens, we’ll see. But we certainly like his future with the 49ers. … They’re going to work hard during this week to get him up to speed. But right now, we don’t need him. C.J. [Beathard] just played a great game and his teammates really believe in him. We think it’s nothing but a good situation.”
To incentivize running back Jonathan Williams to sign to their active roster, the Saints gave him a $50K signing bonus, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Recently, Williams left the Broncos’ practice squad to join up with the Saints on a two-year deal. He also turned down a similar opportunity with the Falcons. It’s also worth mentioning that the second year of his deal also includes a $25K workout bonus (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate).
This week, the Redskins were forced to place running back Rob Kelley on IR.

NFC Notes: Keenum, Garoppolo, Beathard, Hyde, McCloughan

November 12th, 2017 at 9:17pm CST by GregGoldstein

Case Keenum and the Vikings are now 7-2 after beating a tough Redskins squad today on the road. The third-string quarterback has been of the bigger surprise of stories of the season, especially with his play of late. Apart from leading his team to victory in their last five contests, the 29 year-old signal caller has thrown for 8 touchdowns during that stretch and collected his second 300 yard game of the season during today’s win.

Keenum’s inspiring play of late has kept him ahead of the now healthy Teddy Bridgewater on the depth chart and has Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports saying that the quarterback deserves to be re-signed by the team this season’s end. In a column published tonight, the veteran NFL analyst suggests that Keenum should be the priority of the Vikings three upcoming free agent QB’s (Keenum, Bridgewater and Sam Bradford) because of the other two quarterback’s history of injury issues.

La Canfora notes that Keenum brings a sense of mobility to the position that the team won’t have in the other signal callers and just seems to be getting better as he continues to get playing time. It’s a story that you couldn’t imagine seeing at the start of the offseason, but makes sense now considering the circumstances that have unfolded in Minnesota. There’s a ton of talent that could become available this offseason, but Keenum has made his case to the Vikings for why he should get some serious consideration as a legitimate starting option moving forward.

Jimmy Garoppolo almost made his San Francisco debut into today’s win over the Giants after starting quarterback C.J. Beathard injured his thumb. However, the rookie signal caller toughed out the injury and was able to finish off the victory. While the 49ers are now no longer winless, the team does intend to start their newly acquired QB in Week 12, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. But, head coach Kyle Shanahan offered a different view of the situation in his postgame press conference. “No, that never was the plan,” the first year head coach told the media. “As I told you guys, I’m taking it week by week so I don’t have to really pause on everything. I’m looking forward to seeing our guys tomorrow so we can review this and coach up. Take a team photo and try to get away from each other for a while. We’ll continue to work with Jimmy over the bye week here and there. We’ll have a bonus practice next Monday to get everyone loose and we’ll see where it goes from there. It’s not just about C.J. or just about Jimmy, there’s a lot of things that go into it,” (via Schefter). It remains to seen what will unfold regarding the 49ers QB depth chart after the team’s bye in Week 11, but there’s no doubt that Garoppolo is getting more comfortable in the offense and was ready to go if Beathard wasn’t able to continue playing.
In other 49ers news, running back Carlos Hyde went on the record before today’s win to address his upcoming free agency. At least for now the lead back doesn’t want to discuss a deal with his current team, according to Cam Inman of The Mercury News. “I spoke to my agent about it, but I told him I don’t want to talk about contract extensions or anything like that right now,” Hyde said Thursday. “I want to focus on getting our first win, finishing the season off. I told him if we get to that point, then we can talk about it.” Now even though San Francisco is in the win column, it would be a lot to expect a change in heart from the 26 year-old. Hyde could be in line for a solid contract from his current franchise or potentially another RB needy team. The fourth-year back has hasn’t broke the 100 yard marker in any game this season, but has managed to put up decent numbers in an offense without a reliable passing game. He’s just one of many running backs available on the current list of 2018 Free Agents.
In off the field news, former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan is set to have his grievance hearing on December 18, according to Pro Football Talk. McCloughan has filed the lawsuit because he wants to be paid the remainder of the balance left on his contract. Washington argues that they should not pay their former G.M. because he was fired for alcohol abuse.

Extra Points: Patriots, Maxwell, Peterson

November 6th, 2017 at 9:35pm CST by Ben Levine

Following months of speculation, the Patriots finally pulled the trigger on a Jimmy Garoppolo trade during last week’s deadline. Today, coach Bill Belichick provided some clarity on the transaction, noting that the team did not shop around the quarterback during this past offseason.

“There was no market to trade Jimmy in April, on our end,” Belichick said during an appearance on WEEI (via Doug Kyed of NESN.com). “I don’t really care what the offer was. I don’t even know what the offers were, or would have been. There was no interest on our end in making that deal. It didn’t really matter what the offer was, or would the offer would have been. I don’t really know what they were because we never entertained it.

“As I said, we had the best depth at that position probably of any team in the league, or at least we felt like we did. Maybe other teams felt different, I don’t know. We had great depth at that position. It was a tremendous situation to have two quarterbacks of the caliber we’ve had the past call it two and a half years from when Jimmy was ready. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t sustainable.”

There were whispers that the Browns had pursued Garoppolo during the offseason, but it sounds like the Patriots weren’t even willing to pick up the phone.

Let’s take a look at some other notes from around the NFL…

Brian Hoyer has a number of suitors after he was let go by the 49ers, but the quarterback told Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com that signing with the Patriots was a no-brainer. “I think for me, that was kind of the excitement of coming back home, and to be able to play behind Tom [Brady] and be in this organization,” Hoyer said. “And I was OK with. I think for me, having played a lot, you’re always ready to play, but it wasn’t going to work out for me to be a starter there in San Francisco the rest of this year, anyways, and probably not for next year. So I think for me, when I had an opportunity to come here and be the backup to Tom and in this organization, it was kind of a no-brainer.”
After working out with the Falcons, cornerback Byron Maxwell will not be signing a contract this evening, reports ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. Of course, the writer also notes that the defensive back hasn’t been ruled out, so a transaction could still be a possibility.
Even after he missed three field goal attempts on Sunday against Washington, the Seahawks say they will not move on from kicker Blair Walsh. “No, we will not,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters (via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com). “He’s 12-for-13 going into the game, guys. That was a hard day for whatever reason. We didn’t kick the ball off very well, either. It was just a hard day to kick the ball for us.” Walsh’s misses proved to be costly as Seattle lost by three points.
After a slow start to the season, Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson may actually reach some of his monetary incentives. As former agent Joel Corry notes on Twitter, the veteran’s contract calls for an extra $150K if he reaches 750 rushing yards. After compiling only 81 rushing yards in four games with the Saints, the veteran has collected 314 in three games with the Cardinals, meaning he only needs another 355 rushing yards in eight more games.
The number of agents certified by the NFL Players Association has risen 4%, from 795 to 830, Liz Mullen of SBJ writes. That figure includes 119 new agents who became certified this summer. Meanwhile, 84 agents either lost or dropped their certification. One can lose certification by not negotiating an NFL deal within a three-year period, missing the yearly union seminar, or not paying dues.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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