Eleven-year NFL veteran Jimmy Garoppolo has had a memorable career, enjoying success with both New England and San Francisco in vastly different roles. Finding ways to contribute on the field and inside the facility, Garoppolo won two Super Bowls as a backup before winning an NFC championship with the 49ers as their starter.
While it seems like Garoppolo’s days as a starter are behind him, his days as a contributor continue – but in a role that one might not expect. The scout team is full of players who may not see the field on Sundays but have the talent to if they’re ever called up. While they don’t get the love they deserve, their work plays a massive part in a championship effort.
Sean McVay was asked how Garoppolo helps the defense get better as a scout-team quarterback.
“I just think it’s the ability for him to be able to activate the parts of the field and make quick decisions,” he said. “He has such a command too. Sometimes you get some of these younger quarterbacks and they’re not quite as comfortable taking command of the huddle. Even if you just hear the way that he communicates with the guys around him, you can’t help but get better because our defense is seeing a look that’s very much reflective of high-level starting caliber quarterback play with the things that he can do. He has a great way about himself. He has definitely made them better by the way that he handles himself on the field, the looks that he’s able to present them, in terms of just mimicking and imitating the opposing team’s quarterback, and then I think he’s also made the players that he’s around better [by] the way he communicates to them. I don’t think it’s by mistake that when you talk to teammates of his at other stops he’s been at, he’s very well regarded and they want to play hard for him.”
After getting released by the Raiders following the 2023 season, Garoppolo signed a one-year deal with the Rams this past offseason. For a defense full of young players, Garoppolo’s ability to teach and improve the players around him may keep him on the Rams for the future.
