San Francisco 49ers

Is Jimmy Garoppolo to blame for 49ers' loss to Rams?

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 11:37 a.m. ET

What is Jimmy Garoppolo's future now that the San Francisco 49ers were left out of Super Bowl LVI?

Alongside Tom Brady's retirement and the big game between the Rams and Bengals, what's next for Jimmy G was also a talking point come Monday.

On Monday's edition of "The Herd," Colin Cowherd revealed why he believes Garoppolo deserves some credit despite the 49ers' 20-17 loss to L.A. in Sunday's NFC Championship Game and what could be next for the eight-year NFL veteran.

Spoiler: It doesn't include sticking around in San Francisco.

"I thought [Sunday] was the perfect ending for the Garoppolo-49ers relationship," Cowherd said. "He's always been good enough to get you here, but in the fourth quarter, he didn't play well. Matthew Stafford did, and he looked like a little bit of a liability. The Niners have the coach, they have the system, they have the defense, they've got the weapons. They need to upgrade at quarterback."

Colin Cowherd: Jimmy Garoppolo deserves some credit, despite 49ers' loss

Colin Cowherd explores the options for the 49ers' quarterback, and whether he believes Sunday was the last we'll see of Jimmy G in a San Francisco uniform.

On Sunday, Garoppolo went 16-of-30 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one very costly interception initiated by Aaron Donald, which clinched victory for the Rams.

"Over the last three playoffs, any team with a 10-point fourth-quarter lead is 19-2," Cowherd continued. "The two losses are Jimmy Garoppolo. But he deserves credit. He didn't fold, didn't get his feelings hurt when they brought in Trey Lance. He also played hurt this entire playoff run.

"If I ran the Pittsburgh Steelers, I'd be on the phone today. … Playoff experience, big-game experience, NFC West experience, New England coaching, and Kyle Shanahan? I'm getting a smart dude into the room."

Garoppolo, who has been the 49ers’ starter since 2017, has led S.F. to two NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl appearance over the last three years. 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 rookie Lance as their starter and 9-7 with Garoppolo under center.

On "First Things First," Chris Broussard explained why Garoppolo is not to blame for the 49ers' loss on Sunday.

"If you wanna blame Jimmy G because he couldn't carry the football team, OK. But who said he could?" he asked. "The fact is … [the Rams] held [the Niners] to 50 yards rushing — [the Rams] have given up on average about 150 [yards] a game in their first two losses to the Niners. So when they shut down the run game, and it had to be, ‘Jimmy G’s got to throw for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns for us to win,' he couldn't do it. But that's not who he is."

Chris Broussard doesn't blame Jimmy G for 49ers' loss to Rams

Watch as Chris Broussard makes a case for Jimmy Garoppolo as a solid NFL starter, taking the blame off of him for Sunday's loss to L.A.

Despite Garoppolo going 1-for-6 for a loss of three yards and an interception in his last two drives of Sunday's game — plus a delay of game penalty — Broussard went on to reveal who he believes is really at fault for the 49ers' loss.

"The [49ers'] defense gave up scores on the last three possessions by the Rams," he said. "They gave up 13 points in the last 17 minutes. We saw the dropped interception that could have been. Jaquiski Tartt dropped it.

"I'm not saying he did great damage, Jimmy G, but you don't put the loss on him. No way."

It's likely that the 49ers will now officially turn their attention to Lance and look for a trade partner for Garoppolo, whose contract expires at the end of next season.

Now, the question becomes where will Garoppolo land –– and if that team can squeeze another deep run out of the Mr. G.