Montana not ready to declare Garoppolo savior
The 49ers saw enough from Jimmy Garoppolo in five starts last season to sign him to a then-record $137.5 million contract in February.
The quarterback to whom fans quickly likened Garoppolo, Joe Montana, wants to see more.
Montana, the Hall of Famer who led the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, said as much Tuesday during an appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” when asked about those already deeming Garoppolo a savior of the recently downtrodden 49ers franchise.
“I think it’s still a little early for it myself,” Montana said. “He’s obviously had a lot more success in the games he’s played in so far than the other quarterbacks that have been there recently. So I think there’s a lot of excitement in the Bay Area about it.
“I think this year will be a big tell on it. They paid a lot of money for him. But I think there’s some belief there that he’ll be there for a while.”
Acquired in an Oct. 30 trade with the Patriots for a second-round draft pick, Garoppolo started and won the final five games of the season with a 49ers team that had been 1-10. The wins included games against the playoff-bound Titans, Jaguars and Rams in the final three weeks.
The 49ers inked Garoppolo to a five-year extension in February (since surpassed as the largest in annual earnings by Kirk Cousins’ deal with the Vikings). That, combined with the 49ers’ finish in 2017, has contributed to higher expectations for the team in 2018 — which, Montana said later Tuesday on Sirius XM’s “Mad Dog Radio,” Garoppolo will have to show he can handle.
“I still want to see a full season played,” Montana said, “because it’s easy to come in at the end of a season when the team’s down and no one’s expecting things and be able to win. I won’t say it’s easy — that’s a bad word to choose — but I think it was set up for him to be successful that way.”
Montana added that he rarely has seen quarterbacks leave a system where they’re entrenched behind a successful starter — as Garoppolo did, coming from his role as Tom Brady’s backup in New England — and thrive in a different offense.
“If the guy in front of them leaves and they stay in that system, they seem to have more success,” Montana said. “But if they leave and go to another team, I don’t think there’s been any successful quarterbacks that have made it for any length of time. I mean, there’s probably three right behind Tom that have left already.”
Montana did say he hopes Garoppolo proves to be “a difference for the 49ers.”
“He did seem to uplift the team, which is a good sign,” Montana said. “Everybody’s anointing him right now, but let’s just give him some time to settle in and make sure he’s the guy.”