In case you weren't aware, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been the subject of a little discussion this season. Everyone has an opinion about his NFL future. Will he be the Niners' signal-caller next season, or will the team look to move in a different direction?
Kyle Shanahan recently offered a vote of confidence in his quarterback.
"I expect Jimmy to be our starter next year," the 49ers head coach said last week. "I mean, I expect him to come play with us this year (after he recovers from his ankle injury). ... It's a lot harder to win games when he's not here, and I'm just hoping we can get him back."
Garoppolo is 26-9 (including playoffs) as a starter. He led the 49ers to 13 regular-season wins, a division crown, and a Super Bowl appearance in his first full season as a starter.
Count offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey among those who are tired of being asked about the chatter surrounding Garoppolo and the quarterback's future. Like many of his teammates, he chooses to ignore the outside noise.
"No, we do not listen to any of that," a passionate McGlinchey said on 95.7 The Game's Damon, Ratto & Kolsky show. "I think that's all nonsense. Jimmy is as good of a competitor, and as good of a quarterback, as you can find. It's all smoke and things that people want to talk about in hard times.
"In Jimmy's first full season healthy as a starter, he took us to the damn Super Bowl. I don't understand why there's constant battles for him, why there's constant people calling for his job. I will never understand that. Jimmy's a winner, and he's a leader on our football team."
Garoppolo completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,096 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions through six games before suffering his second injury of the season. His missed time, along with the 49ers' misfortune, has led to significant speculation.
"Nobody pays attention to that stuff because we know who we have in number 10," McGlinchey continued, "and hopefully, he will not go anywhere for a long time. And I think that's the same message that anybody on our team will say.
"You can talk to anybody in our organization, and they know the trust and faith that we have in number 10, and the kind of man, and the kind of player that he is."
You can listen to the entire conversation with McGlinchey below.
