The 49ers suffered through a significant string of injuries in 2020, including a high ankle sprain for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo has made it through only one full season since San Francisco traded for him in 2017. The quarterback tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2018 season and played only six games this year.
But when he’s played, he’s produced results. The 49ers are 22-8 in games he’s started for the franchise. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has said he expects Garoppolo to be San Francisco’s QB in 2020. And following Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, right tackle Mike McGlinchey provided his own endorsement.
“I believe that our team needs him,” McGlinchey said, via Chris Biderman of The Sacremento Bee. “I believe that our team is clearly different without him. And the person that Jimmy is, the competitor that he is and the talent that he is, when he’s on, the results speak for themselves. That’s all I really have to say about that.”
Garoppolo completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,096 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions in 2020.
San Francisco was 3-3 in games Garoppolo started in 2020 and 3-7 without him. Though there are plenty of questions surrounding Garoppolo’s status with the franchise, it might be hard to find an upgrade if the club were to move on from him.