49ers: Let’s stop the rumors, Jimmy Garoppolo is the guy

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been the talk of the town this offseason. But it’s time to put any rumors of him leaving to bed.

There’s a lot of uncertainty happening in the world right now, especially in the San Francisco 49ers camp. So let’s get this out of the way — Jimmy Garoppolo will be the 49ers quarterback next year and into the foreseeable future.

The organization isn’t shopping him around. They aren’t looking to upgrade. And they most likely aren’t even looking for his backup.

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Lately, social media has blown up over a couple of free-agent quarterbacks coming to the Bay Area. In one corner we have the living legend in Tom Brady, who grew up a 49ers fan possibly wanting to play for his childhood team.

In the other corner, we have Kirk Cousins who has a connection with the 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan. Both would be interesting to see in red and gold, but you can make it happen in video games.

Let’s take a look at how Brady and Cousins compared to Garoppolo in 2019. Keep in mind, of the three players listed, only one went to the Super Bowl and he should be the only quarterback the 49ers look at for the next few years.

Tom Brady

We’ll start with Tom Brady. It’s been widely publicized he’s been a 49ers fan since birth. He was born in San Mateo, California, which is about a 25-minute drive according to Google Maps. Back in November, he emphasized his love for the team by saying he hated this rival:

However, beyond this, Brady is still on the back-half of his career. He’ll be 43-years-old in August and won’t play much longer.

In 2019, Brady threw for just over 4,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also had his lowest completion percentage since 2013 with 60 percent.

When you look at those stats, you’re thinking “I’d love to have a quarterback with these numbers.” But if you look at Brady’s career, they’re some of his lowest numbers in three years. Brady also led the New England Patriots to an AFC Wild Card appearance.

According to NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, Tom Brady wanted to sign in San Francisco, but the 49ers opted out.

Kirk Cousins

Here’s another “connection” storyline — Kirk Cousins and Kyle Shanahan. To be fair, as much as this connection is run by the media, Shanahan did want Cousins to be his quarterback in San Francisco.

He practically said it himself.

But here we are. Cousins is not here and he won’t be here next season and most likely won’t be in town for the 2021 season.

So why is there hype around Kirk Cousins? Is he better than Garoppolo, so much so Shanahan has to ditch his quarterback who he’s watched improve the last three seasons? Will Cousins come in and toss 5,000 yards, 50 touchdowns and only throw six picks?

The answer you’re looking for is no. Cousins isn’t going to do any of the above. Now, this isn’t to take away from his performance last season. It was good. It was very similar to Garoppolo’s.

However, Cousins is on the back-side of age 30. He’ll turn 32-years-old in August while Garoppolo is still a few months away from hitting 29. Both quarterbacks proved age is just a number.

During the NFL’s 100th season, Cousins threw for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and only threw for six interceptions. His quarterback rating was an excellent 107.4.

Cousins has 88 career starts under his belt. Last season was the first time he topped the 10-win mark. He also finally won his first Monday Night Football game as well.

And let’s be real, the 49ers are going to be playing a lot of games in prime time for the next year or two. They’ll want a quarterback who can handle the pressure.

Let’s also not forget who the 49ers dominated in the NFC Divisional game in January.

Jimmy Garoppolo

Look, Jimmy Garoppolo is the guy. He is QB1 on the depth chart. He is the future of this team.

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The 49ers hadn’t made the Super Bowl in years and his first full season under center, he took them there. The 49ers and Garoppolo tasted what Super Bowl week was like. They did media night, they participated in events all week long.

They want to do it again. And again. And again.

The only way they’ll make multiple appearances and hopefully bring home a trophy or two, is with Garoppolo.

Last season he had 3,978 yards in the air (375 more than Cousins, 79 less than Brady.) He threw for 27 touchdowns which were more than Cousins and Brady had.

His completion percentage was better than the others. And his quarterback rating was slightly below Cousins but far more superior than Brady’s.

While nothing is official yet, Tom Brady won’t be making his way to the Bay Area. But if you’re worried about Kirk Cousins coming over, don’t think about it.

Jimmy Garoppolo is the man and will be for a while.