40 Fun Facts About Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo spent his first four NFL seasons as the backup to which star quarterback?

Tom Brady held the job throughout, so Garoppolo made only two starts in three and a half seasons with New England before he was traded.

Jimmy Garoppolo's 49ers led Super Bowl LIV by 10 with seven minutes left, then lost to which team?

The Kansas City Chiefs scored 21 points in five minutes to win 31–20. Garoppolo finished with 219 passing yards and one touchdown pass.

Which scandal led to the four-game suspension that gave Jimmy Garoppolo his first NFL start in 2016?

Deflategate, the dispute over deflated footballs in a playoff game, sidelined the Patriots' starter for a month and put Garoppolo in the lineup.

Which rookie, the final pick of the 2022 draft, replaced the injured Jimmy Garoppolo that December?

Brock Purdy, that draft's Mr. Irrelevant, had opened the season as the 49ers' third-string quarterback. He kept the starting job for the rest of the year.

Which injury ended Jimmy Garoppolo's 2018 season in Week 3, months after he signed a record contract?

A torn ACL in his left knee, suffered late in the third game, finished his year. Without him the 49ers slid to a 4–12 record.

Jimmy Garoppolo set career passing records at which FCS school, where he played from 2010 to 2013?

Eastern Illinois signed him as a two-star recruit, and he left holding the school records for career passing yards and touchdowns.

Which Patriots star caught Jimmy Garoppolo's first NFL touchdown pass, thrown in his 2014 debut?

Rob Gronkowski caught it on Garoppolo's first drive, late in a 41–14 defeat. The rookie completed six of seven passes in the game.

Jimmy Garoppolo broke a college touchdown-pass record once held by which Dallas Cowboys quarterback?

Tony Romo threw 85 touchdown passes at the same school, then joined Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2003. Garoppolo passed him as a senior.

Which third overall pick was named the 49ers' starter over Jimmy Garoppolo before the 2022 season?

Trey Lance's season ended with an ankle injury in Week 2, handing the job straight back to Garoppolo.

Jimmy Garoppolo left the 49ers in March 2023 to sign a three-year deal with which team?

The Las Vegas Raiders released him the following March, after he had started only six games for them.

Which head coach, hired by the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, coached Jimmy Garoppolo in Super Bowl LIV?

Kyle Shanahan was hired in February 2017 and saw his team trade for Garoppolo that October, midway through his first season in charge.

Jimmy Garoppolo helped the Patriots' defense prepare for which quarterback before Super Bowl XLIX?

Russell Wilson was the quarterback Garoppolo helped the defense get ready for. The rookie earned a ring without taking a snap in the 28–24 win.

Jimmy Garoppolo earned a second ring when the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in overtime against which team?

The Atlanta Falcons led 28–3 before losing 34–28. Garoppolo was in uniform but, as in his first title game, never took a snap.

Jimmy Garoppolo joined the Los Angeles Rams in 2024 as the backup to which veteran quarterback?

Matthew Stafford was rested for the 2024 regular-season finale, giving Garoppolo his first start for the team: 334 yards in a 30–25 loss.

Which head coach named Jimmy Garoppolo his starter for the first four games of the 2016 season?

Bill Belichick made the call once his regular starter was suspended, though an injury cut Garoppolo's run short in the second game.

What did the San Francisco 49ers give the Patriots in the October 2017 trade for Jimmy Garoppolo?

A second-round pick in the 2018 draft was the whole price, for a quarterback who then won all five of his starts that season.

Which honor for the top offensive player in FCS football did Jimmy Garoppolo win as a senior in 2013?

The Walter Payton Award is named for an NFL legend who starred at Jackson State. Garoppolo won it after throwing for 5,050 yards in one season.

Jimmy Garoppolo's 2016 and 2022 runs as a starter both ended with injuries against which team?

The Miami Dolphins were the opponent both times: he was knocked out of his second career start, then suffered a season-ending foot injury six years later.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw four touchdown passes in a 2022 Monday night game at which stadium abroad?

Estadio Azteca in Mexico City hosted the 38–10 win over a division rival, part of the NFL's International Series.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw only eight passes in the January 2020 NFC Championship Game win over which team?

The Green Bay Packers lost 37–20 despite facing so few throws. Garoppolo completed six of them for 77 yards.

Jimmy Garoppolo won his first seven NFL starts, a feat last managed by which quarterback as a rookie?

Ben Roethlisberger had last done it in 2004. Garoppolo's streak covered two starts for New England and five for San Francisco.

Jimmy Garoppolo finished one vote behind which quarterback for 2019 NFL Comeback Player of the Year?

Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans edged him by a single vote, after Garoppolo had returned from a major knee injury to start all 16 games.

Jimmy Garoppolo's 2023 move reunited him with which head coach, his former Patriots offensive coordinator?

Josh McDaniels was fired on the same day Garoppolo was benched, eight games into their reunion.

Jimmy Garoppolo won his first NFL start, a 23–21 road game to open the 2016 season, against which team?

The Arizona Cardinals lost at home as Garoppolo completed 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown.

Which sport did Jimmy Garoppolo call his first love, one he also played at Rolling Meadows High School?

Baseball came first for Garoppolo, who was a pitcher for his high school team as well as its quarterback.

Jimmy Garoppolo was born and raised in which Chicago suburb, long known for its horse racing track?

Arlington Heights lies about 25 miles northwest of downtown, and its former racetrack was home to the Arlington Million.

Why was Jimmy Garoppolo suspended for the first two games of 2024, his first season with the Rams?

A PED policy violation cost him two games. Once eligible, he sat behind the starter until the final week of the regular season.

How did Jimmy Garoppolo give up a safety in an 11–10 loss to the Denver Broncos in 2022?

Stepping out of bounds at the back of his own end zone handed Denver two points in a game the 49ers went on to lose by one.

Which rookie started for the Patriots after Jimmy Garoppolo was hurt in the second game of 2016?

Jacoby Brissett started the next two games, then the suspended regular starter returned in Week 5 and both young quarterbacks went back to the bench.

Jimmy Garoppolo was the highest-drafted Patriots quarterback since which first overall pick of 1993?

Drew Bledsoe went first overall 21 years earlier. Garoppolo, taken 62nd, was also the first FCS player chosen in the 2014 draft.

Jimmy Garoppolo was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after a 48–46 road win in 2019 over which team?

The New Orleans Saints lost the shootout by two points as Garoppolo threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns.

Jimmy Garoppolo's 49ers clinched the NFC West with a road win over which team in the 2019 finale?

The Seattle Seahawks fell 26–21 at home, a result that also gave San Francisco home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Which body part did Jimmy Garoppolo injure in his second start of 2016, costing him the next two games?

Shoulder trouble, a sprained AC joint, followed a hit in the second quarter. He had already thrown three touchdown passes in the game.

When Jimmy Garoppolo was benched midway through 2023, he was leading the NFL in which statistic?

Interceptions were the problem: he had thrown nine in six starts, against only seven touchdown passes.

Besides quarterback, which position did Jimmy Garoppolo play for the Rolling Meadows High School Mustangs?

Linebacker was his other job at Rolling Meadows, where he passed for 3,136 yards and 25 touchdowns in 19 games at quarterback.

Which head coach ran the no-huddle offense that Jimmy Garoppolo led as a college senior in 2013?

Dino Babers arrived after four years as a Baylor assistant and reached the FCS playoffs in both of his seasons with Garoppolo at quarterback.

Jimmy Garoppolo made his 49ers debut in November 2017 after which starter was hurt late in a game?

C. J. Beathard hurt his leg and hip in the final minute. Garoppolo ran for six yards on his first play, then threw a touchdown on the game's last.

Which rookie from Purdue replaced Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter midway through the 2023 season?

Aidan O'Connell had already made one start that season, filling in while Garoppolo recovered from a concussion.

Jimmy Garoppolo was named Male Athlete of the Year for 2013–14 by which college sports conference?

The Ohio Valley Conference had put him on its All-Newcomer Team as a freshman, when he started eight games and threw 14 touchdown passes.

Jimmy Garoppolo's father worked in which trade before retiring, having raised four sons in the Chicago suburbs?

Electrician was his father's trade. Jimmy is the third of four brothers, and the two eldest became an architect and a teacher.