49ers' Jimmie Ward praises Jimmy Garoppolo as locker-room favorite

Defensive back Jimmie Ward has explained why quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is so popular inside the San Francisco 49ers' locker room. 

"Because everybody sees kind of what goes on," Ward said during a Tuesday appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "Everybody always hears the outside noise when it comes to Jimmy G. We see the adversity that he has [faced], the perseverance through each year." 

The 49ers traded up to select quarterback Trey Lance third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and then made Lance their starter this past offseason as they attempted to trade Garoppolo. San Francisco couldn't find a buyer for the 31-year-old after he underwent shoulder surgery in March, and the two sides ultimately agreed to a restructured deal that included Garoppolo accepting a pay cut. 

That worked out well for the Niners, as Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. Garoppolo, meanwhile, has helped San Francisco win four straight games to improve to 7-4 ahead of this Sunday's matchup against the 8-3 Miami Dolphins. 

"Even over this past year, we noticed. We seen the moves that [general manager] John [Lynch] and [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] make," Ward continued. "And when you look at Jimmy, he's just poised. He comes in the locker room, he's the same guy. No matter what, he continues to work. He doesn't pout. He doesn't cry. He doesn't get down on himself. He just continues to work, and he doesn't lose his confidence."

According to ESPN stats, Garoppolo ended Week 12 fifth in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks with a 103.0 passer rating, tied for 17th with a 53.9 total QBR, tied for eighth with a 67.4% completion percentage and tied for sixth with an average of 7.8 yards per pass attempt this season. In 10 games and nine starts, he's thrown 16 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. 

"You know who he is as a player," Ward added about Garoppolo. "You know what he can bring to this team. And he's a pretty good quarterback. I want to say people are starting to see that, but at the same time, he has such high expectations, which is crazy. But that's what happens when you're a great player."

There are already whispers suggesting the 49ers could keep Garoppolo as their QB1 into next summer, especially if he leads the club to a second Super Bowl appearance since February 2020. It sounds as if Ward and other teammates would be just fine with such a decision.