It felt like old times. Jimmy Garoppolo, decked out in 49ers gear, smiling behind the podium after practice. Jimmy Garoppolo answered many of the big questions surrounding this unprecedented turn of events in his first press conference since “returning” to San Francisco.
Let’s start with the biggest one: Why didn’t he ever request his release?
“That just wasn’t the way I wanted it to go. There was a thought of that at one point, trust me there was. That came and went and I don’t know. Things just kind of kept falling into place. I’m one of those people that, I don’t really want to really ruffle the feathers too much here and there. Kind of just want to go with the flow. That’s kind of the way training camp was going and I was happy with it. Like I said, things worked out and I’m happy now.”
Some players are comfortable drawing that line in the sand, and some aren’t. Clearly, that wasn’t something Garoppolo was prepared to do.
Why did he want to come back to San Francisco knowing he wasn’t going to be the starter?
“A lot of things, actually. I think just the opportunity to be with the same team. A team I’m familiar with, offense I’ve familiar with, coaches, players. All that stuff really played a big role in it. Seeing the other opportunities that were out there and just... You’re weighing the pros and cons of everything. Trust me, there was a lot of (laughs) back and forth going on with other teams and what I wanted my future to look like. This is what I wanted. I’m happy the way it worked out and just the familiarity, I think, was a big part of it.”
He’ll be in a familiar face, yes, but not in a familiar role. When you go from being a starter to a backup, is there a blow to the ego?
“If that’s going to take a blow to your ego, you’ve got to check your ego a little bit (laughs). You’ve got to know who you are in this league. Who you are as a player, who you are as a person. I think that’s going to carry you a long way, so that’s why I’m not too concerned about that.”
And finally, now that he’s back throwing the ball and participating in practice is the shoulder 100% healthy?
“Uh, I mean, just with practice, every day it will help a little bit more and more. Just get more and more used to it, but I feel good with it. I feel very confident. I’m happy with where it’s at.”
So far, day one of the new normal went exactly as the 49ers would have hoped.
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