You didn’t have to be at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday to feel the shock as Jimmy Garoppolo was carted off the field in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins. The season had mostly been on an upward trajectory for the San Francisco 49ers since Garoppolo took over for an injured Trey Lance in Week 2. With Garoppolo, who already knew the playbook, under center and most of the 49ers’ endless offensive weapons healthy and productive, San Francisco were suddenly a team to reckon with. When they traded for Christian McCaffrey in October, they became a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
But with Lance out for the season and Garoppolo suffering what would later be revealed to be a broken foot, the chances of victory suddenly seemed grim. The Niners defense is great, the league’s best in fact, but who was going to make sure this team scored points? Enter Brock Purdy, the Iowa State alum who the 49ers took with the last pick of the 2022 draft. Yep, Purdy is the most recent Mr Irrelevant.
