Are the San Francisco 49ers Actually Better off with Jimmy Garoppolo?

After a sloppy loss to the Chicago Bears in the first week of the season, the San Francisco 49ers felt the pressure to perform in Week 2.

The grumbles that the team would have been better off with Jimmy Garoppolo under center this season likely would have grown if San Francisco had continued to struggle at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

Well, the 49ers got the win they needed in an emphatic fashion. However, that win came at a high price.

Lance ended his season due to an ankle injury. The team spent most of the off-season trying to unload a quarterback.

And believe it or not, San Francisco's chances of making another deep playoff run may be better for it.

Lance told reporters that he needed to be more cautious while running the ball after leading the 49ers in rushing attempts in the first week of the season.

"I'm not bigger, faster and stronger than pretty much everyone else," Lance said. "Guys catch up a lot quicker, space is filled, guys close a lot faster, and I have to learn to protect myself, just being in a different situation knowing how important it is for me to stay healthy."

They would be prophetic.

Lance ran with the ball on a zone-read keeper in the first quarter, but was stopped by the Seattle defense. After trying to get up, his right leg folded under him, and it became obvious that something was seriously wrong.

Lance was taken off the field. The worst-case scenario is that Lance fractured his ankle and will need surgery.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Trey Lance broke his ankle and will undergo season-ending surgery Monday.

It's a tough end to a season that started with so much promise. There was no shortage of analysts who thought Lance would do well. Lance told Nick Wagoner before the season that he wanted to show the league what he can do and how much he's grown as a player.

"I've had a great offseason and training camp," Lance said. "There's ups and downs to every day, every rep. So I'm learning as much as I possibly can. There's countless areas that I know I'm going to continue to improve on and countless areas that I have improved on as well."

The quarterback the 49ers mortgaged their future to draft will be in place in 2023. The team has to find a replacement for Lance in order to stay in the game.

The team either couldn't find enough compensation in a trade or had reservations about not having insurance behind Lance, after spending a lot of the off-season saying that Garoppolo's days in San Francisco were over.

Even though Garoppolo's contract was restructured to bring him back as Lance's backup, the Niners might still be interested in dealing him.

"Just like all players, we'll listen to anyone on any topic," he said. "That is the same for every player and coach." We will always listen to anyone.

Garoppolo said just after the ink dried on his reworked deal that he didn't think he'd be back with the 49ers.

Garoppolo told reporters that he wasn't thinking about returning. I was working out here. I was here because I had to be here. I was just trying to be healthy. I knew I was ready to go and I was very confident. I don't know where it was. Things fell into place over the last few days.

Now, the move that some speculated could cause a quarterback controversy in San Francisco could instead save the team's season.

Garoppolo isn't the reincarnation of Joe Montana. Either Steve Young or someone else. The numbers against the Seahawks are a good example of his career.

Garoppolo completed 13 of 21 attempts for 154 yards and a touchdown. He added a touchdown on the ground and a passer rating of over 100.

The 49ers traded three first-round picks to get Lance. Garoppolo is not a dynamic person. He doesn't have a gun. He isn't particularly athletic.

He isn't a player who can put a team on his back and lead them to victory. He's a good football player, but not a great one.

We don't know if Lance is as good as we think. Not by a large margin. There are some things that Garoppolo is not.

Garoppolo is more accurate at this point in his career than Lance is. He knows the offense inside and out after five seasons as a starter.

He started in Super Bowl LIV. In the locker room, he's respected. He is a different kind of backup quarterback.

Garoppolo is a winner for the 49ers because they want to make the playoffs and do damage once they do.

The fact that Garoppolo has a higher winning percentage in San Francisco than Rodgers does in Green Bay is important. He was the leader of the 49ers in two of the last three seasons.

This isn't a situation where you have to throw half the offense out the window to accommodate the limitations of a player who hasn't played in a long time.

Is there anything Lance can do that Garoppolo cannot? I agree. The man knows what Garoppolo does and doesn't do well. He has been doing it for a long time.

Lance's injury wasn't a good thing, that's for sure. It was a tough break for a promising player. That would be a bad thing to say.

Lance wasn't well known in San Francisco. It's not Garoppolo. The 49ers are with him and we know who he is. They are going to run the ball. Don't play offense. They will win more than they lose.

Peter King predicted before the season that Garoppolo would replace Lance as the starting quarterback.

Even though Lance is the future in San Francisco, a compelling argument could be made that Garoppolo is the best bet for success in the present.

That argument isn't relevant anymore.