Jimmy Garoppolo's struggles don't faze 49ers' Richard Sherman, NFL scouts

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“R-E-L-A-X.”

Aaron Rodgers famously spelled that out after the Green Bay Packers began struggling to start the 2014 season.

According to many around the NFL, critics need to take the same approach with 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

"I know he will be fine," 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman told Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman. "First game back after major injury with massive pressure in his face every pass snap. Not the ideal game to be back [from] first. Chubb made it that way."

Broncos defensive end Bradley Chubb did wreak havoc on the 49ers first-team offense, blowing past veteran tackle Joe Staley and providing the pressure that forced Garoppolo into his first interception to Isaac Yiadom. Garoppolo finished 1-for-6 passing with a whopping zero yards, netting him a rare 0.0 QB rating.

However, it was also his first time back in live game action since Sept. 23, 2018, and the 49ers were already keeping two starting offensive linemen on the shelf for the team’s second preseason game.

Freeman also spoke with several scouts across the league about Garoppolo, and none had any concerns after the disastrous performance.

"I know he can do it," an NFC East scout told Freeman. "I've seen it."

Jimmy G did win all five of his starts after joining the 49ers in 2017, and threw for 1,560 yards and seven touchdowns. 

The problem with analyzing Garoppolo is he has such a limited sample size of both good and bad performances. In his three starts before the injury in 2018, Garoppolo was far from the franchise savior many had made him out to be, as his completion percentage was below 60 percent and he threw three interceptions.

[RELATED: 49ers' Kyle Shanahan confident Jimmy Garoppolo can block out negativity]

His record-setting contract (at the time) is another point of contention, as no QB had ever been paid nine figures with a track record of just seven wins as a starter.

Despite all the noise surrounding the 27-year-old’s return to the field, his teammates, coaches, and rival scouts have no qualms about Garoppolo. Maybe it’s time we all take the hint and give Jimmy G a full season before we rush to anoint him either a bust or a superstar worthy of the hundreds of millions of dollars the 49ers gave him.

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