Kyle Shanahan boldly claims Jimmy Garoppolo was the best 49ers QB since Steve Young despite a rough split in the off-season

The 49ers parted ways with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2023 NFL off-season.

Kyle Shanahan boldly claims Jimmy Garoppolo was the best 49ers QB since Steve Young despite a rough split in the off-season

Steve Young (L- 49ers), Jimmy Garoppolo (M- SI), and Kyle Shanahan (R- USA Today)

The San Francisco 49ers recently parted ways with their star quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2023 off-season. Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers head coach reportedly said “no” when he was asked whether he has plans to re-sign Garoppolo towards the end of the 2022 season. But now, Shanahan has highly praised Garoppolo while comparing him to the Niners icon Steve Young.

“I think Jimmy was unbelievable for us. We won lots of games. Jimmy was unbelievable here. I think he was the best quarterback here in about 20 years since Steve Young,” Shanahan told reporters on Thursday. “Had an unbelievable record and every time he played and stayed healthy, we were either in the Super Bowl or NFC Championship Game.” (H/T: 49erswebzone)

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Garoppolo spent the last six years in San Francisco but only played one full season. His tenure with the Niners was riddled with injuries but when he was fully healthy in 2019, he registered 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns while completing 69.1 percent of his pass attempts in 16 games. During that season, Garoppolo led the Niners to an NFC Championship victory, but they lost the Super Bowl game to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Even though it sounds crazy to call Jimmy Garoppolo the best quarterback since Steve Young, it is kind of true since the 49ers have had struggles with finding good signal-callers. Some of the 49ers’ quarterbacks after Young are Alex Smith, Brian Hoyer, and Nick Mullens. So Shanahan comparing Garoppolo with Young might be accurate.

Still, Kyle Shanahan decided to part ways with Jimmy G after the rise of the rookie sensation Brock Purdy and their former first-round pick Trey Lance. Garoppolo ended up signing with the Las Vegas Raiders in the off-season.

Related: Jimmy Garoppolo indirectly ATTACKS HC Kyle Shanahan over rumors of him missing team meetings at 49ers

Jimmy Garoppolo is looking to revive his career with the Raiders

Jimmy Garoppolo Raiders SI
Jimmy Garoppolo (Image via SI)

After getting released by the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo signed a 3-year deal with the Raiders. He is now looking to revive his career in Vegas following an injury-riddled tenure in San Francisco.

Garoppolo was having a good campaign with the 49ers, but a season-ending foot injury led to Purdy taking over the starting QB job of the Niners. Now Jimmy has fully recovered from his injury and is set to replace Derek Carr in Las Vegas.

On the other hand, the Raiders signed Garoppolo after trading away their franchise signal-caller Carr in the off-season. Garoppolo has a tough job ahead as he will be facing some of the toughest teams in the upcoming season, but he has the potential to lead this team to a playoff appearance.

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