He not only failed to acclimatize to the new surroundings, but also did not establish himself in the teammates’ good books. Moreover, the 32-year-old’s Achilles heel of being unable to stay injury-free contributed to his downfall. In the end, Garoppolo lost his starting job to fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell, along with costing McDaniels’ the head coaching gig.

Garoppolo only managed six games, throwing seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. But the last nail in the coffin came from the NFL itself. They slammed a two-game ban on him for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. However, the media has yet to hear from the former Patriots backup QB.

This started the speculation that the Raiders would eventually cut him from the roster, eyeing a new starter. One destination that appears to be unlikely but not farfetched enough to believe that it won’t come to fruition. That would be a return to the San Francisco 49ers, a place where he left in awkward terms.

Things got awkward for Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco

Although 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t said anything bad about his former quarterback, it’s clear that there was a bit of tension in the locker room. That’s because Garoppolo himself revealed that the Trey Lance situation was making things a little awkward.

Both he and Lance suffered injuries in the 2022 season, leaving the last pick in the draft, Brock Purdy, to take over. Purdy led the team to the NFC Championship game, more or less cementing his spot as the starter. Lance fell in between the two.

With Jimmy G being traded to the Raiders, many believed that Lance would stay and fight with Purdy for the starting QB job. But Shanahan then added Sam Darnold, pushing Lance out of the team and trading him to the Dallas Cowboys. Garoppolo, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, spoke about the weird situation.

Uh, you know, weird situation. There have been a lot of weird situations over there in San Francisco, just to leave it at that, but I’m happy Trey got another shot, man. Happy he’s getting to Dallas. Garoppolo

But was that the only problem? Apparently, it wasn’t because, according to a 49ers insider, Garoppolo himself was a bit of a troublemaker. One-time 9ers coach Mike Silver revealed that after the Eastern Illinois graduate signed for $137.5 million with the franchise, despite injury troubles, he simply vanished for a while.

Nobody heard from him for weeks and weeks. He didn’t return calls or texts; he basically just vanished. We were looking at each other and going, ‘What just happened?’ Silver told the San Francisco Chronicle

Whatever trade value Garoppolo had following his Super Bowl run, it plummeted after offseason surgery in 2022. Reportedly, the Cleveland Browns were trying to get him, but he eventually joined the Raiders in 2023.

Is a return to the 49ers possible for Jimmy G?

Purdy is the undisputed No. 1 quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, as he led the team to Super Bowl 58. But he is the only quarterback available for the franchise. Both Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen‘s contracts are set to expire, and they will enter free agency.

This leaves the door open for possibly Shanahan to recall Garoppolo. The Patriots picked him in the second round of the 2014 draft to be the backup to Tom Brady. He won two rings and learned from the best. Joining the 9ers does have benefits. He already knows the playbook, has played with most of the players, and should be able to do a better job when called upon.

It was under Shanahan that Garoppolo registered his best-ever numbers. He played a total of 55 games, winning 38 and losing 17 from 2017 to ’22, leading the 9ers to two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance.