Jimmy Garoppolo expects to be ready for training camp

Updated Apr. 21, 2022 5:26 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Jimmy Garoppolo expects his shoulder to be ready for training camp — wherever that may be.

Garoppolo told the

“I feel good. It’s in a good spot right now,” Garoppolo said. “Surgery went really well. I’m about six weeks out from it right now. So we’re still in the beginning process of this whole thing, but we’re not throwing or anything like that. But I’m really happy with where it is.”

As for training camp, he said: “There’s a lot of steps in between now and then but, yeah, I think we’ll be ready by then.”

Garoppolo nearly led the 49ers to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. He guided them to two road wins in the playoffs before losing to the Rams in the NFC championship game. But the 49ers are planning on starting Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft.

That means Garoppolo, despite an impressive resume, is the odd man out.

“With rehab, you’ve got to stay so locked in, just every day, focusing on these little victories, trying to get 1% better each day,” Garoppolo said. “And I think it just keeps you focused because there’s a lot of hearsay, a lot of situations that you can create in your own head, and just drive yourself crazy. I try to avoid that and just stay where I’m at right now.”

Garoppolo, who backed up Tom Brady in New England his first 3 1/2 seasons, is 33-14 as a starter in the regular season and 4-2 in the playoffs. He has a 98.9 career passer rating. His shoulder surgery prevented teams from already trading for him and taking on his $24.2 million salary while he’s recovering, but Garoppolo welcomes competition whether he stays in San Francisco or joins a new team.

“Honestly, I’ve always been a fan of competition,” Garoppolo said. “I think it brings out the best in everybody, myself included. It’s kind of what we did in San Francisco (last) year, and we got some pretty good results from it.

“Whenever there’s competition, I’m always for it. I welcome it. But everybody’s got a unique situation in the NFL. It’s been a crazy offseason for a lot of people, so I’m not the only one in that boat. But you’ve just got to take it in stride. It’s your story, and you’ve got to make it the way you want to be.”

Garoppolo’s dad, Tony, joined him to talk about the growing demand for skilled trade professionals and how vital these careers and future workers are for the economy. Tony Garoppolo worked as an electrician for 40 years. He made it clear his son’s career is still on the rise.

“He’s worked very hard. It’s not like this is handed to him,” Tony Garoppolo said. “He wasn’t the first-round draft pick, the No. 1 pick, came from a small school, and I think that even made it even more rewarding to see it take place and unfold that way. It’s just been a great run and we’re still running. We’re not ready to toss in the towel yet.”

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