Jimmy Garoppolo

James Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panthers, setting school records for career passing yards and passing touchdowns and winning the Walter Payton Award as a senior. Garoppolo was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft by the New England Patriots, where he spent his first four seasons as Tom Brady's backup and was a member of two Super Bowl-winning teams.

Traded to the San Francisco 49ers near the end of the 2017 season, Garoppolo helped revitalize a 1–10 team by winning the last five games of the season. His most successful season was in 2019 when he guided the 49ers to the #1-seed in the NFC and an appearance in Super Bowl LIV. Garoppolo also helped lead them to an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2021. However, his San Francisco tenure was afflicted by injuries, which caused him to miss most of the 2018 and 2020 seasons. After suffering another season-ending injury in 2022, Garoppolo spent the following season with the Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Rams.

Early life and family

Garoppolo was born and raised in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is the third of four sons born to Denise (née Malec) and Tony Garoppolo Sr., a retired electrician. His older brothers are Tony Jr., an architect; Mike, a teacher; and his younger brother is Billy. Garoppolo is from a "tight-knit, big Italian family"; his paternal grandparents, Anthony and Rose Garoppolo, were both Italian immigrants, while his maternal grandparents, Theodore J. Malec and Harriet D. Seidel, were of Polish and German descent, respectively.

Garoppolo attended Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, where he was a quarterback and linebacker for the Mustangs football team. Garoppolo played in 19 games at quarterback during his junior and senior seasons, and passed for 3,136 yards and 25 touchdowns. In addition to football, Garoppolo was also a pitcher for Rolling Meadows, stating: "Baseball was my first love when I was a little kid." A two-star recruit, he accepted an offer to play football at Eastern Illinois over offers from Illinois State and Montana State.

College career

Garoppolo played football for the Eastern Illinois Panthers from 2010 to 2013. As a freshman, he started eight games, passing for 1,639 yards and 14 touchdowns and earning All-Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer Team honors playing under head coach Bob Spoo. Garoppolo went on to start every remaining game during his time at Eastern Illinois, passing for 2,644 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore, 3,823 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior, and 5,050 yards and 53 touchdowns as a senior, breaking the school record for career pass completions previously held by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

In 2013, Garoppolo, playing his senior season in head coach Dino Babers's up-tempo no-huddle offense, won the Walter Payton Award, given to the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He was also named the 2013–14 OVC Male Athlete of the Year and the 2013 College Football Performance FCS National Quarterback of the Year.

Statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

Represented by Don Yee, Garoppolo was considered one of the better quarterback prospects for the 2014 NFL draft.

New England Patriots

2014 season

The New England Patriots selected Garoppolo in the second round (62nd overall) of the draft. He was the first player from the Football Championship Subdivision drafted in 2014, and the highest-drafted quarterback the Patriots had selected since Drew Bledsoe was picked first overall in 1993. On June 2, 2014, Garoppolo signed a four-year contract worth $3,483,898 ($1,103,744 guaranteed) with an $853,744 signing bonus.

In 2014, Garoppolo made his regular season debut in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' Week 4 41–14 road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Garoppolo led the Patriots on a scoring drive, which led to his first NFL touchdown on a 13-yard pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski on his first drive. Garoppolo finished the game completing six of seven passes for 70 yards and the aforementioned touchdown along with a passer rating of 147.9.

In his rookie year, Garoppolo played in six games. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown with a 101.2 passer rating and had 10 carries for nine yards. While Garoppolo did not take any snaps in the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX victory, he was credited with helping to prepare the Patriots' defense for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

2015 season

In 2015, Garoppolo appeared in five games in relief roles. He completed one of four passes for six yards for a 39.6 passer rating.

2016 season

After starting quarterback Tom Brady was suspended by the league for four games for Deflategate, head coach Bill Belichick named Garoppolo the starting quarterback for the 2016 season, and he was expected to stand in for Brady for all four games.

During the narrow season-opening 23–21 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Garoppolo completed 24-of-33 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Miami Dolphins, he threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns before leaving the eventual 31–24 victory during the second quarter with a shoulder injury. It was later revealed that Garoppolo sprained his AC joint after a hit by Dolphins' linebacker Kiko Alonso that kept him out the next two games, giving the starting job to rookie Jacoby Brissett before Brady returned from suspension in Week 5. During Super Bowl LI, while active for the Patriots' 34–28 comeback overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Garoppolo once again did not take any snaps (as in Super Bowl XLIX).

2017 season

During the offseason, Garoppolo was the subject of several trade rumors with the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns being cited most commonly as potential suitors. However, no trade occurred and Garoppolo remained with the Patriots going into the 2017 season.

San Francisco 49ers

2017 season

On October 31, 2017, the Patriots traded Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for the 49ers' second-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

Garoppolo made his 49ers debut in the final minute of the Week 12 matchup against the Seahawks, taking his first snaps of the season after starter C. J. Beathard suffered a leg and hip injury. On his first play as a 49er, Garoppolo rushed for six yards, and on the final play of the game, he threw a 10-yard touchdown to Louis Murphy. Garoppolo finished the 24–13 loss completing both of his passes for 18 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

On November 28, 2017, Garoppolo was named the starter for the Week 13 matchup against the Chicago Bears. Making his first start for the 49ers, Garoppolo finished the narrow 15–14 victory with 293 passing yards and an interception. In the next game against the Houston Texans, he had 334 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception during the 26–16 road victory. The following week against the Tennessee Titans, Garoppolo recorded a season-high 381 passing yards and a touchdown in a narrow 25–23 victory.

During a Week 16 44–33 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 242 passing yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and his first career rushing touchdown. In the regular season finale against the Los Angeles Rams, who were resting most defensive starters to prepare for the playoffs, Garoppolo threw for 292 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions during the 34–13 road victory. His victories in Weeks 13–17 gave him a 7–0 record in his first seven starts (including his two starts for New England), making Garoppolo the first quarterback to do so since Ben Roethlisberger accomplished the same feat in 2004. With Garoppolo under center, the 49ers scored on 62 percent of their offensive drives, 11 percent more than the second-place Patriots. For perspective, NFL teams scored on 35 percent of their drives in 2017, and the 49ers scored on just 29 percent of their 2017 drives without Garoppolo. Garoppolo finished the 2017 season with 1,560 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions to go along with 11 rushing yards and a touchdown in six games and five starts.

Because Garoppolo was on the Patriots' roster for eight games before he was traded to the 49ers, an NFC team, he was eligible for payments from the league based on the Patriots' playoff performance; because the Patriots reached Super Bowl LII, Garoppolo earned $107,000. He was ranked 90th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.

2018 season

On February 8, 2018, the 49ers and Garoppolo agreed to terms on a five-year contract worth a maximum of $137.5 million. It was the largest contract in NFL history on an annual basis at the time and had nearly $90 million in guarantees in the first three years, also the largest total in NFL history at the time.