Gonzales: Jimmy Garoppolo comes home. Will it be one of his final starts with 49ers?
Four years after commemorating his first start as 49ers quarterback with a victory at Soldier Field, Jimmy Garoppolo hopes Sunday's start against the Bears isn't a farewell.
Garoppolo, a Rolling Meadows High School standout, is holding onto his starting job after a rough performance under wet and windy conditions Sunday night against the Colts before a nationally televised audience.
"You've got to use that to get you ready for this next game," Garoppolo told reporters Wednesday. "If you just let those games drag back to back like that, you're going to be in for a long year."
Garoppolo's tenuous status is heightened by the health of Trey Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Garoppolo will start, but Lance returned to practice Wednesday after suffering a left knee injury Oct. 10 against the Seahawks.
With a 2-4 record in the ultra competitive NFC West, the 49ers soon might look more to the future. They surrendered three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Dolphins to move up from the 12th overall pick to select Lance last April over the likes of Justin Fields of the Bears and Mac Jones of the Patriots, who are starting for their respective teams.
In the meantime, Garoppolo's play has been marred by injuries and inconsistency.
That's tempered the great expectations since his first start with the 49ers on Dec. 3, 2017, when he threw for 293 yards in a 15-14 win.
Garoppolo directed an 86-yard drive, highlighted by a 33-yard pass on a third-and-nine situation with two minutes, to set up a game-winning field goal with no time left.
Garoppolo was hailed by the 49er Faithful as their savior and was rewarded with a five-year, $137.5 million contract. But aside from winning the 2019 NFC title, the 49ers and Garoppolo have fallen short of their goals for a franchise that reveres Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young.
"A lot of memories come back when I think to the last time we played (the Bears at Soldier Field)," Garoppolo said. "But it's a completely different team now, different coaching staff, different players. So it'll be fun to get back there. It will be a hostile environment, for sure."
Garoppolo missed one start this season because of a calf injury, his latest in a series of ailments with the 49ers dating to 2018, when he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and missed the final 13 games. Garoppolo missed the final eight games of the 2020 season because of a high ankle sprain.
This wasn't supposed to be a rebuild year for the 49ers. They re-signed eight-time Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams from Washington last spring to protect Garoppolo's blind side.
But after a 2-0 start, the 49ers have lost four consecutive games and have three games left against the division-leading Cardinals and Rams.
Perhaps Garoppolo's status would be more precarious had Lance, the 49ers' quarterback of the future, not suffered a left knee sprain earlier this month.
According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Garoppolo was responsible for 35 turnovers in his last 34 games before he threw two interceptions and losing a fumble in the loss to the Colts.
"I haven't gotten many games in a row with him, and I know he's battled through a lot of that stuff," Shanahan told reporters Wednesday. "I think he's had a great offseason. I thought he's been having a good year, up to when he got hurt versus Seattle.
"And he had a tough game (Sunday) in that rainstorm, which (we're) not giving excuses. But when it comes to throwing the ball, I know that's not fun for anybody. But that's where we're at right now."
Despite increasing pleas from local media and fans to start Lance, Garoppolo has the close support of brother Michael who lives in Santa Clara County. And an exceptional performance Sunday could enhance the value of Garoppolo, who turns 30 on Nov. 2.
"Going home is always fun, kind of where the first start happened here," said Garoppolo, who anticipates more than 100 family members and friends will attend Sunday's game.
"So it'll be a fun crowd. That Chicago crowd is ruthless, though. We played in Philly this year. That was a pretty hostile environment. I'm sure this will be pretty similar to that, but it'll be a fun Sunday."
@MDGonzales