Deebo Samuel not surprised Jimmy Garoppolo is leading 49ers to wins

San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Deebo Samuel knew Jimmy Garoppolo could immediately replace the injured Trey Lance in the starting lineup. 

"I wasn't surprised at all," Samuel said of Garoppolo's play coming off shoulder surgery and a unique offseason during an appearance on CBS Sports Radio's "Maggie and Perloff" show, according to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "I've been with Jimmy for the past four years here, and everybody around here knows what Jimmy is capable of. Nobody wanted to see Trey go down. It kind of took the life out of us for a minute, but in this league, it's kind of next man up. And with the next man being up, Jimmy's been here for a while, so we knew what we was getting. I feel like Jimmy did it the right way. He approached it the right way and continued to be the same guy throughout the whole process."

Garoppolo underwent surgery in March, lost his starting job to Lance as far back as springtime workouts, and was relegated to fourth on the depth chart in August as the 49ers looked to trade the 31-year-old to a would-be buyer. 

No team sent San Francisco any meaningful assets before the club signed Garoppolo to a restructured contract in August so he could serve as Lance's backup, but the veteran resumed his starting duties after the second-year pro suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2.

As QB1, Garoppolo has won four of seven starts and helped the 49ers reach an overall record of 5-4 heading into the "Monday Night Football" matchup against the 4-6 Arizona Cardinals. 

Meanwhile, it was pointed out this past Sunday night that Jimmy G is 10-2 in starts where he doesn't throw a single touchdown. 

"It kind of shows what kind of team we have, the kind of physicality we have, and how we run the ball, and how we approach the game," Samuel remarked about that fact. "You don't have to go out there and throw the ball 50 times to win a game. It's about clock management. It's about the great defense that we have."

In his eight games this season, Garoppolo has recorded 11 touchdown passes and four interceptions. ESPN stats show he's sixth among eligible signal-callers with a 100.0 passer rating and third with an average of 8.1 yards per pass attempt. 

It's already being suggested the 49ers could keep Garoppolo as their starter into next summer and possibly shop Lance whenever he's cleared to resume football activities. 

One wonders what Samuel and his teammates would think about that considering Garoppolo's popularity in the locker room.