Some things might be better left unsaid.
Even if Jimmy Garoppolo had the same feelings as Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the 49ers' signal-caller never verbalized it publicly.
On Wednesday, Tannehill spoke to reporters for the first time since Tennessee drafted Liberty quarterback Malik Willis in the third round. The veteran quarterback shared that the team did not reach out to reveal its plans, which understandably would be upsetting.
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SIGN UP HERE What Tannehill said next regarding helping the rookie has become a national story, but it’s not the first time and probably not the last a veteran quarterback has expressed similar sentiments.
“That’s part of being in a quarterback room, in the same room -- we’re competing against each other, we’re watching the same tape, we’re doing the same drills,” Tannehill said. “I don’t think it’s my job to mentor him. But if he learns from me along the way, then that’s a great thing.”
The relationship between an incumbent quarterback and his successor has obvious potential for conflict. As the Broncos starting quarterback in 2019, Joe Flacco also said it wasn’t his job to mentor rookie Drew Lock. Packers great Brett Favre did not help young Aaron Rodgers and 49ers legend Joe Montana was open about his less-than-warm feelings towards Steve Young.
All of these examples make Jimmy Garoppolo’s attitude throughout the 2021 season highly commendable. While he was aware that the team traded a wealth of draft picks in order to select Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the 30-year old never expressed a lack of interest in helping out the North Dakota State product.
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Or at least Garoppolo never verbalized his refusal to mentor Lance.
Maybe it was because Garoppolo never believed losing his starting job was a possibility after Lance missed the entire 2020 season due to COVID-19 restrictions. Maybe Garoppolo saw helping Lance as a natural progression of the two spending the entire season together.
While Lance and Garoppolo were not seen together outside of their time together at the facility, the rookie gave glowing reviews about his new teammate during his first training camp with the 49ers.
“No, there’s no awkwardness at all,” Lance said last July. “We’re good friends. We got to spend a lot more time together now and definitely looking forward to continuing learning as much as I can from him.
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“He’s one of the best people that I’ve ever been around on and off the field. So just super excited to continue to learn this year as much as I can from him.”
It is not technically veteran quarterback's job to mentor his heir apparent. The team has coaches for that. Still, helping every player on the team play to the best of their abilities is a sign of good leadership, which is what Garoppolo’s teammates rave about.
Garoppolo’s leadership qualities might be a reason that the veteran being on the 49ers roster as the season approaches is not entirely impossible. Trade partners for the quarterback became scarce after he underwent successful shoulder surgery in March that will keep him from throwing a football until July.
The 49ers' locker room was completely behind Garoppolo as the starter throughout the season and would likely welcome him back upon his return.
