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At this time last year, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was still learning to run. He said he hoped to be ready for the team's offseason program, but no one really knew for sure when the quarterback would start receiving the reps he needed.
Garoppolo was medically cleared to practice by training camp. Still, he was coming off a devastating ACL injury. How would he look come Week 1? A much-discussed
five-interception practice in August, and a poor outing during his first preseason game cast doubts.
Garoppolo played a full NFL season for the first time in his career. He led the team to an NFC West championship, the best record in the conference, and eventually, the Super Bowl. Garoppolo and his teammates were just minutes away from winning the NFL title, but a fourth-quarter collapse ended those hopes.
Now, Garoppolo will have a whole offseason to think about that loss. The good news is that it will be a healthy offseason. He won't have to worry about learning to run again, gaining strength in his knee, that first big hit, or any of the concerns that existed a year go.
"Last year, I was here at this time, it was raining every day, trying to learn how to run, all that stuff," Garoppolo shared on Wednesday as 49ers players cleaned out their lockers. "So it will be a more productive offseason, I would imagine. Just getting into the (play)book, fine-tuning the little things. That's what will help us next year."
And now, at last, he has a lot more starting experience under his belt.
"I think it will help us going forward," Garoppolo continued. "It was a full year; everything we went through, all the big games at the end of the year, trying to get that one seed."
Garoppolo remembered one moment from this past season that appropriately depicts how close the team was and how prepared it typically was heading into a game. It's what made this 49ers team so unique.
"One memory that keeps coming back to me is that Redskins game, how before that game, it was pouring rain," Garoppolo said. "There might have been 100 people in the stands, and our team was just out there, ready to roll. The camaraderie that we had, it was a special group to be around."
Garoppolo stood there looking for his teammates as confetti dropped down around him. There was a celebration happening all around him. It was chaotic. The celebration, however, wasn't for him or his team.
The next morning, Garoppolo woke up and packed his things, getting ready to board a cross-country Bay Area-bound flight.
"It sucked," Garoppolo said. "I wouldn't want to put anyone in my head that Monday morning, just going through all that stuff."
Garoppolo hopes to turn that memory of confetti falling around him into fuel for next season.
"I keep telling myself, you've got to remember that feeling when all the confetti is coming down, just remember that moment, and you've just got to let it fuel you for this offseason," Garoppolo said. "Just come back stronger, more ready for next year."
Garoppolo understands there is criticism surrounding his part in the Super Bowl LIV loss. When the 49ers were holding onto a 10-point lead and needed a productive late-game drive to seal the win, the quarterback didn't come through. Garoppolo went 3-of-11 for 36 yards with an interception and a passer rating of 2.8 in the fourth quarter.
"You've got to own it," Garoppolo said of his late-game performance. "You've got to be a man, and attack it right down the middle, right in the face, and just look back at the season. There was a lot of good memories from this year. This team, the players, coaches, it was a great group to be around. I enjoyed every minute of it. Terrible ending, but you've just got to take the good with the bad."
The news of Arik Armstead's departure from the San Francisco 49ers after nine seasons with the team shocked linebacker Fred Warner. Armstead, a former first-round pick, was an impactful force on the football field. However, his availability over the last two seasons forced the 49ers to reevaluate his contract, and when his salary could not be significantly reduced, the two sides parted ways.
"Huge surprise," Warner said of learning that Armstead was being released. "Ever since I've been here, we called him the blueprint for how to be a Niner. That was the longest-tenured Niner that's been here and a guy that's done it right through and through."
Warner has been in the NFL long enough to understand how the league works. Over the years, he's watched several
The San Francisco 49ers are among the 25 teams kicking off their offseason workout program today. However, don't expect to see players facing off against each other on the practice field for the next couple of weeks. The program's early portion, dubbed "Phase One," spans two weeks and includes limited activities such as meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.
The second phase of the offseason program extends for three weeks and includes on-field workouts for individual or group instruction and drills. After that, teams can hold up to 10 days of organized team activities on the practice field.
As the 49ers continue to negotiate a contract extension for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, it's important to note that all of these sessions are
(Episode 330) — Legendary columnist Mike Silver joins the show to discuss the Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors and trade value, priorities in the secondary, Mike's book, and more! You can read Mike's work at the San Francisco Chronicle.
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The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
