George Kittle Defends Jimmy Garoppolo Against Hate

George Kittle

George Kittle, a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, couldn’t believe the backlash Jimmy Garoppolo received on social media following the team’s 13-10 playoff triumph against the Green Bay Packers last week.

Sure, Garoppolo only passed for 131 yards and an interception, and the win was mostly due to a late-game blocked punt. And in the previous week’s win over the Cowboys, Garoppolo only passed for 172 yards and an interception.

George Kittle Was Stunned By The Hate Jimmy Received

The 49ers, on the other hand, are in the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three years, and their quarterback isn’t happy about it.

Garoppolo, 30, believes it is critical to completely disregard social media.

It’s his superiors in the 49ers’ organization that aren’t always on his side.

Despite his team’s best efforts to replace him, Garoppolo has led the 49ers to within one step of another Super Bowl trip. The 49ers swapped first-round selections in 2022 and 2023 in March for the No. 3 pick, which they used to choose quarterback Trey Lance. The message to Garoppolo is quite clear: Lance is the future, and he isn’t him. George Kittle is against the hate he receives.

The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl in 2019, but Garoppolo missed a total of 23 starts in 2018 and 2020 due to injury, and it cost them both seasons. As a result, Lance was traded up, with the intention of Garoppolo keeping the seat warm for a year.

This season, though, Garoppolo has risen to the occasion. He started 15 of the team’s 17 regular-season games, as well as two postseason games, despite calf and thumb problems. Garoppolo had a passer rating of 98.7, a completion rate of 68.3%, and a yard per attempt of 2.2 in the NFL (8.6).

All he did was win as he has done throughout his career. Garoppolo is 11-6 this season, including the playoffs, and has a lifetime record of 37-15. (4-1 postseason). Only Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Roger Staubach, and Lamar Jackson have a higher career victory percentage than him (.712). George Kittle acknowledged Garoppolo’s achievements and hopes that others appreciate him too.

The 49ers started the season 3-5, but are now 9-2 heading into Sunday’s game against the Rams.