San Francisco 49ers great Joe Montana has his choice to be the Niners’ starting quarterback in 2023.
On the Open Mike podcast with Mike Silver, Montana didn’t blink when it came to answering who should start for the Niners next year.
“I start Jimmy,” Montana said. “He has won a lot of games. I can’t say the same for Trey. You don’t know that from him. I don’t think it’s hard — I think you just start Jimmy.”
Trey Lance‘s career with the 49ers has been plagued with injuries and a lack of experience. He was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and many had high expectations. But in his first year with the team, he couldn’t beat out Garoppolo, who eventually led San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game. In his second year, he injured his ankle and was out the rest of the season That allowed for Garoppolo and eventually Brock Purdy to take his place.
Despite that, many people feel Purdy should start for the team next year. But not Montana, who feels the most important thing is the win total. Which Jimmy G has over Lance and Purdy.
“He still won a lot of games before he got hurt, right?” Montana said of Garoppolo. “And so he put [Purdy] in that position to be able to go on that run, to begin with. So, you handed a guy a team, sort of like somebody else I know got handed a good team. You’ve got to go with the guy who’s been winning the games and gets the offense and go from there.”
Regardless of what Montana is saying, it looks like the club will indeed part ways with Garoppolo.
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.