Jimmy speaks: Garoppolo talks Tom Brady, 49ers’ response to George Floyd’s death
By Matt Barrows Jun 15, 2020
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Jimmy Garoppolo offered the equivalent of a shrug when asked how he reacted when 49ers officials told him they’d weigh adding Tom Brady in the offseason.
“It kind of comes with the territory,” the 49ers quarterback said after a player-organized throwing session in San Jose last week. “It comes with the job.”
Brady, who is considered among the top quarterbacks in NFL history, signed a two-year contract with the Buccaneers in March. At one point, however, he signaled he was interested in joining the 49ers, which was something Kyle Shanahan said the team had to evaluate.
“We looked into it to try to see if it would be better for our team this year and in the future,” the 49ers coach said on the
“TK Show” podcast in April. “And when we weighed it all together, we didn’t think it would. And we felt great with where we’re at. Kind of confirmed how we are with Jimmy.”
Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have said they kept Garoppolo in the loop as rumors of a possible Brady-to-San Francisco connection scorched the internet for a month after the Super Bowl. Garoppolo confirmed he wasn’t caught off guard.
“The one thing I can say about the whole situation was Kyle and John were very honest with me the whole time,” he said. “That’s their job — to put the best team together possible and you’ve got to respect that. So as long as the honesty and truthfulness is there, I respect those guys, I love those guys. And it’s going to be a fun year this year.”
Garoppolo came within 22 yards last season of becoming the first 49ers quarterback with 4,000 passing yards since Jeff Garcia in 2000. He had terrific outings in road wins at New Orleans and Seattle that earned the 49ers’ the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and he took his team to the Super Bowl in his first full season as an NFL starter. Was he dismayed the 49ers would consider someone else?
“It’s the NFL,” he said. “There’s competition. Everyone’s trying to put the best team together they can. And that’s just the reality of it.”
Garoppolo certainly isn’t acting bitter over the episode. He’s been running
players-only throwing sessions at San Jose State for the last two months while official practices have been wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. He plans to take part in a similar session in Tennessee where a lot of 49ers players spend the offseason.
Garoppolo also has been a vocal participant in the Zoom calls involving team leaders as the 49ers figure out their response to the worldwide protests that have erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police last month.
NFL quarterbacks typically are the most outspoken members of their teams. That, however, hasn’t been Garoppolo’s style. The son of an electrician who played linebacker until high school, Garoppolo is careful not to stand apart from teammates.
While other quarterbacks made news early in the offseason for either their donations toward coronavirus-related matters or public statements following Floyd’s death, Garoppolo has been quiet publicly. The lone exception seems to be posting an all-black background on his Instagram account earlier this month for Blackout Tuesday, a show of solidarity with those protesting against racism.
It’s been another matter in the recent leadership group sessions that have included Arik Armstead, Dee Ford, Robbie Gould, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle, Richard Sherman, Laken Tomlinson, Fred Warner, K’Waun Williams and Trent Williams. According to two people privy to those conversations, Garoppolo has been as vocal as any member of that group. Armstead also has been among the most outspoken in those sessions.
Asked why he felt compelled to speak up, Garoppolo echoed Shanahan by saying it’s
not a time to stay silent, no matter the color of your skin.
“I haven’t had many of those experiences,” he said of racial prejudice. “But I think learning and hearing from other people — teammates, especially — people that you have a personal relationship with. When you talk about that with people, it hits deeper and has more of a meaning behind it. And I think that’s a huge part of it.”
The 49ers aren’t ready to announce how they will respond. Shanahan has said it won’t involve merely writing checks and that team leaders have discussed voting- or youth-based initiatives. Whatever the conclusion, Garoppolo said, it will be a team-wide effort. He said he’s been encouraged that everyone in the locker room has been eager to participate.
“We’re approaching it as a team, instead of just doing it as individuals,” Garoppolo said. “I really like it. It’s crazy what’s going on in the world right now. And I think it’s really about people learning and educating themselves on everything that’s going on. Because once that happens, then the process can really begin. And so we’ve been talking about it, and a lot of guys have some ideas we’ve thrown around. Hopefully, we’ll finalize it (soon).”