Jimmy Garoppolo Happily Accepts Getting Cucked by the 49ers Because He Doesn't 'Want to Ruffle Feathers'

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Of all the things that can be frustrating about a man's relationship with another man, nothing is as hard to deal with as him having less respect for himself than you have for him. That goes for friends, brothers, co-workers, and even people you've never met. 

We've all been there. We've all seen a guy face abuse and humiliation by taking the path of least resistance instead of standing up for himself. Instead of fighting back and preserving what remains of his dignity. Whether it was done for money, sex, family, to keep from "getting in trouble" or what have you, there's nothing like seeing a guy you have respect for show zero personal pride to make you want to give him the Don Corleone slap-around and yell, "You can act like a MAN!!!" in his face. 

Which brings us to Jimmy Garoppolo. Maybe it's semi-personal with me. I thought it was bad enough when San Francisco thanked him for taking them to a Super Bowl by moving three 1st round picks to get Trey Lance to replace him. But when he led them to the NFC title game last year, that to me looked like personal vindication for him to my vision-corrected eyes. I assumed they'd swing a deal for him. Or at the very least, after he underwent shoulder surgery, they'd pay him back for all he'd done by releasing him and letting him find a franchise willing to appreciate him. As late as last week, I thought that would be the case. 

And yet, here we are. He's still with them. With his pay cut. Where he'll be standing around in a Niners sideline hat holding a Surface tablet and watching his replacement play. Kyle Shanahan might as well keep him in a trunk wearing a leather zipper mask and a leash around his neck. And the frustrating part, the truly frustrating part for someone who's been backing this guy since he was a rookie, is that Jimmy G seems perfectly contented with the arrangement. 

Source - Going from starting signal-caller in a conference championship game to a backup would bruise anyone's ego. Garoppolo has seen both sides of that arrangement, though, and knows better. 

"I mean, if that's going to take a blow to your ego then you've gotta check your ego a little bit," Garoppolo said on Thursday. "But no, I think you've got to know who you are in this league, who you are as a player, who you are as a person, and I think that's going to carry you a long way, so that's why I'm really not too concerned about that. …

 "That just wasn't the way I wanted to go," Garoppolo said of being released. "There was a thought of that at one point, trust me, there was, but that came and went. I don't know, things just kept falling into place, I'm one of those people that I don't really want to ruffle the feathers too much here and there, and kind of just want to go with the flow, and that's kind of where training camp was going, and I was happy with it. Like I said, things worked out, I'm happy now." 

Egads, man! Have you no dignity? Have you no sense of self worth? You're Jimmy frickin Garoppolo! At one point you were made the highest paid player in NFL history! Since you got the starting job in San Fran, your postseason record is 4-2. In that same time period, Aaron Rodgers' is 2-3. And the Niners missed a year when you were out injured. This is supposed to be your team. Your QB1 job. They're supposed to know that if they want to take it, they're going to have to pry it from  your cold, dead fingers. 

But instead, you laugh off the "KICK ME" sign on your back like it's just ol' Biff and the gang horsing around. 

"Check your ego a little bit"? What ego? It sounds like you're all id. 

"Know who you are in this league"? I'll tell you who you are: A laughingstock. 

"I don't want to really want to ruffle the feathers too much here"? Oh, don't worry; you're not ruffling anything. That takes some self-regard, which is clearly lacking here. No feathers are being harmed in the making of this career implosion, believe me. 

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Say what you will about Denzel Mims, who's been vocal about the way the Jets haven't been playing him and demanding a trade. But at least he's speaking up for himself. He wants to get his shot. And he's been balling out in the opportunities he's gotten:

While Garoppolo, who's accomplished a hundred times more in this league than Mims likely ever will, is rolling over so the team he's led will scratch his belly and tell him what a good boy he's being. Forget the injuries and all that stuff about him "ghosting" his coaches for weeks at a time. I don't think you can make him your QB1 just because of this.