SANTA CLARA — Jimmy Garoppolo said Friday he is too consumed with the present to spend any time contemplating his future.
Garoppolo on Sunday will make his ninth start of this most-improbable of 49ers seasons. He is playing some of the best football of his career despite beginning the season at No. 2 on the depth chart.
He is scheduled for free agency for the first time in his career after this season.
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While the conjecture has already started about where Garoppolo might end up next year, he said he has managed to focus on what’s in front of him.
On Friday, that equates to the section of the playbook devoted to situational football when the 49ers get inside the New Orleans Saints’ 20-yard line.
“I'm trying to worry about red zone today,” Garoppolo said. “No, I'll worry about that (his future) at the end of the year.
“There's too much going on right now, especially in a short week like this. It's been a bit of a catch-up week. So I had to catch up on sleep, catch up on our film stuff. But, yeah, we'll worry about that when we get there.”
San Francisco 49ers
Garoppolo said settling into a day-by-day routine during the season enables him to stay in the moment.
“I just love football, man, so that kind of makes it easy,” he said. “There will be times throughout the season where you want to kick back a little bit and relax.
“It's easy waking up every morning, going after it, and we don't have to work real jobs. We’re football players, so we're lucky you have to take advantage of it.”
The last 20 months have been a wild ride for Garoppolo. The 49ers drafted Trey Lance, and Garoppolo figured last season was going to be his last with the 49ers.
He opted to remain with the 49ers on a reduced contract after the 49ers could not find a trade partner. Garoppolo moved back into the starting lineup when Lance sustained a season-ending injury in Week 2.
In Garoppolo’s first start, he struggled mightily against the Denver Broncos. Since that time, he has achieved a passer rating of at least 99.3 in five of his past seven games.
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The quarterback who was being driven out of town not too long ago now has a lot of support from those wishing he could remain with the 49ers for many seasons to come.
“That's that the life of a quarterback,” Garoppolo said. “It’s always going to be a rollercoaster.
“A lot of people have opinions, but our locker room is steady. I think we have a good group of leaders in there, which plays a big role and the rest of the guys kind of follow suit and it's worked out well for us.”