The 49ers' future begins now with Jimmy Garoppolo

There are two more home games remaining in this dreadful season for the San Francisco 49ers. While it's been a rough go in Kyle Shanahan's first year as head man in charge, there is now reason for the San Francisco faithful — who have been served one gut punch after another in the three seasons since the departure of Jim Harbaugh — to fill Levi’s Stadium, a place that is much more beautiful than the 49ers’ former home, Candlestick Park, but so far much less magical. 

That reason is newly minted starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Last Sunday, after the Seattle Seahawks beat the 49ers at Levi’s, defensive lineman Michael Bennett noted that he went online before the game and found tickets for $17 (they were as low as $6 as right at kickoff). Bennett joked he wouldn’t allow anyone into his house for $17.

Now, the ticket prices have gone back up at Levi’s. Indeed, the 49ers are 1-10, yet there is some there now is reason to watch them as December football faces us — and his name is Jimmy G.

In a move that was clamored for in the fan base, first-year San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan named Garoppolo the starting quarterback for Sunday’s game at Chicago. That means Tom Brady's former backup is now the 49ers’ quarterback, which the franchise hopes ends in a decade or so.

This has been the anticipated move since the 49ers pulled a stunning deadline deal on Halloween to get Garoppolo from the New England Patriots for the very reasonable rate of a second-round pick. This was a masterstroke move by first-year San Francisco GM John Lynch. He gave Shanahan, who earned the 49ers’ gig because of his reputation as a quarterback whisperer, a terrific prospect to develop.

Yet, many 49ers fans were perplexed that Shanahan was reluctant to unwrap his early Christmas gift. He stuck with third-round pick C.J. Beathard in November instead of Garoppolo. While fans didn’t get it, Shanahan’s reasoning for keeping Garoppolo was sound. He needed time to learn the 49ers’ system, and the product around him was beat up. There was no sense in sending Garoppolo — who has started just two games since being drafted in 2014 — to the wolves without a strong knowledge of the offense and a less than full-strength supporting cast.

Of course, we know Garoppolo wouldn't sit forever. San Francisco acquired him to play, and now is the time.

Garoppolo gave 49ers fans a sneak peak of what the future can be when he tossed a garbage-time touchdown pass Sunday in the loss to Seattle after Beathard was banged up. Now, they get to see their new QB for the next five games. It will probably not be perfect. He still isn’t an expert in Shanahan’s offense. The group around him is still lackluster. He may get hit a lot. And he may throw more interceptions than touchdowns.

While it's never fun to see someone struggle, the numbers really don’t matter. What matter is the future has begun in San Francisco. This is the start to it all. A struggling franchise truly isn’t out of the starting blocks until a franchise quarterback is found. The 49ers believe they have theirs. 

Now there are two more things to do: sign Garoppolo to a long-term deal and build around him.

Garoppolo is set to be a free agent in March, but it's unlikely he'll actually become one. The 49ers traded for everyone's favorite backup to sign him, and they have raved about since he joined the team. Given the organization is loaded with salary-cap room, signing him shouldn’t be an issue. Plus, if there are obstacles, Shanahan's new team can always follow suit of one of his former stops in Washington and franchise him. Again, this trade was made for the future. San Francisco will not screw it up as far as the contract goes.

With the most difficult position to fill taken care of, the 49ers can now build around Garoppolo. There isn’t a ton of talent on this roster, although there are some nice front-seven pieces on defense. There is undoubtedly work to do, but with lots of cap room andextra draft picks, Lynch can build a fast winner in San Francisco.

The biggest step was taken this week. The Garoppolo era has officially begun. Soon enough, Levi’s Stadium will go from deserted to a very tough place in which to score a seat.