While the 49ers quarterback situation has been fodder for offseason speculation, as of now it looks like Jimmy Garoppolo will remain San Francisco’s starting quarterback heading into 2021.
That’s not a problem for fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who recently signed a five-year, $27 million contract with the club. He said during a Tuesday interview on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football that he expects Garoppolo to help the 49ers get back to their ways from 2019.
“I absolutely believe that Jimmy will be our quarterback this year,” Juszczyk said. “I think John [Lynch] and Kyle [Shanahan], they’ve made that very clear. They haven’t waivered. Jimmy’s our guy. He’s going to be starting Week 1 and he’s going to do what he does. He’s going to get us back to winning. He has a proven record of winning. The guy is just a winner. When he’s out there, we win games.”
Juszczyk has a point, as Garoppolo has a 22-8 record as a starter since he was traded to San Francisco in 2017. But the problem is that Garoppolo has only been healthy for one full season. He started three games before tearing his ACL in 2018. Then he missed 10 games in 2020, while the club went just 3-3 in his starts.
Still, the fullback noted that no matter what Garoppolo does, analysts will probably debate his future with San Francisco.
“I think that’s just out of our hands,” Juszczyk said. “I don’t think it really maters what he does. But what does matter is that when he gets in that huddle, [excluding] myself, there’s nine other guys that truly believe in him and believe that he can lead us and go down there and score. That’s what really matters is what’s around him and working with him. Those guys believe in him and I think he’s going to have a great season.”