Could Jimmy Garoppolo's best landing spot be the Saints or Steelers?
What does Jimmy Garoppolo's future hold after the San Francisco 49ers' season ended short of Super Bowl LVI?
It is likely that the NFC Championship Game was Garoppolo's last time suiting up for the 49ers, as Trey Lance — the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft — is expected to succeed him as the franchise's next starting quarterback. But the 30-year-old Garoppolo still has plenty of options for his next move.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are among the teams who have a clear need at quarterback.
Other possible scenarios include the Washington Commanders, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers, but the hosts of "Speak For Yourself" believe the best option for Jimmy G is to don black and gold next season.
But that's all they agreed on.
Emmanuel Acho is convinced that the best landing spot for Garoppolo is in New Orleans, while Marcellus Wiley thinks the 49ers QB should have his sights set on Heinz Field.
Wiley and Acho debate the best landing spot for Jimmy Garoppolo
"This one is the easiest question of the day. The New Orleans Saints," Acho said. "What do we know about Jimmy G besides the fact that he can be good enough to win you games and can be good enough to get you there? We know this much to be absolutely certain. Jimmy G will get hurt over the course of the season. Even this year, he messed up his thumb … had to miss a start, and then he had to play through the injury.
"So if we know Jimmy G's gonna be hurt, what's the one organization we trust has a pinch hitter that can catch you through two to four games as a quarterback? The Saints with Taysom Hill," he continued. "So I wanna go to New Orleans because they have a defense that we know is competent. … Albeit aging, they're all still good enough right now to get you to another good one to two years of solid ball. Jimmy G is a plug-and-play quarterback who, if you put him into an organization that has everything else surrounding and ready, he can take you into the playoffs and potentially far into the playoffs."
But Wiley was far from convinced that Garoppolo would outplay Jameis Winston in practice and land the starting role for the Saints. Instead, he figured the absence of Ben Roethlisberger would be the perfect scenario for Garoppolo to make a splash in Pittsburgh.
"I got a team that's better. I was battling between the Broncos and the Steelers in terms of roster construction, and I landed on the Steelers," Wiley said. "The thing about Jimmy G is, you gotta compare him not to what you want a quarterback to look like, but more importantly to the quarterback that was in that same position. The 49ers found that out. Jimmy G helped the 49ers organization get back to this level of prominence."
The Saints missed the playoffs this season after finishing the year just above .500 at 9-8, while the Steelers ended the season at 9-7 before getting knocked out in the wild-card round of the postseason.
This year, the 49ers finished the regular season third in the NFC West at 10-7 and made a run in the playoffs.
Garoppolo, who has been the 49ers’ starter since 2017, has led San Francisco to two NFC championships and one Super Bowl appearance over the last three years. Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers boast a 35-16 record with Garoppolo as a starter — 31-14 (.689) in the regular season and 4-2 (.667) in the postseason.
This season, the 49ers went 1-1 with Lance as their starter and 9-7 with Garoppolo under center.
