The Rams just signed Jimmy Garoppolo to be their backup quarterback. Please hold your laughter, 49ers fans, because there's an alternate reality in which he's still the 49ers starting quarterback.
It's hard to remember how many people thought the 49ers were crazy for trying to replace Garoppolo just a couple years ago. At one time, he was their franchise quarterback and the highest-paid player in the league. Then he got injured, the 49ers traded up for Trey Lance and Garoppolo became a veteran stop gap, but he still was a starter.
Eventually, Lance became the starter, but he broke his ankle in Week 2, and suddenly Garoppolo was back. And he played well enough for the 49ers to consider re-signing him to be their starter.
On Dec. 4, 2022, The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported early in the morning that the 49ers and Garoppolo were open to a reunion in 2023. Later that day, the 49ers played the Dolphins, Garoppolo broke his foot, Brock Purdy replaced him, was excellent, and the rest, as they say, is history.
There's a world in which Garoppolo didn't break his foot that day. Instead, he took the 49ers to the playoffs and signed an extension with the team in the offseason and it never figured out what it had in Purdy. What a nightmare.
In retrospect, the entire Garoppolo Era seems like a weird dream. For a few years, he was one of the winningest quarterbacks in the NFL despite a decidedly modest skill set. Now he's a backup quarterback who isn't even competing for a starting role. He's a professional clipboard holder, and he's only 32.
The 49ers dodged a bullet.
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