Brock Purdy speaks highly of Jimmy Garoppolo after first joint practice

Although he never won a Super Bowl with the franchise, Jimmy Garoppolo has left a lasting mark on the locker room of the 49ers, especially with Brock Purdy.

The 49ers quarterback was very appreciative of his time spent with Jimmy G in his rookie season. Despite only being on the same team for a year, Purdy enjoyed Jimmy’s presence in the locker room, speaking highly of him after the 49ers’ first joint practice with the Raiders Thursday.

“It’s good to see ole’ Jim,” Purdy told the media Thursday after practice. “He’s doing good, looks healthy. And just talking about how everything is [with the Raiders] and how he loves it and how we miss him. It’s always good seeing Jimmy, so it’s great.”

While the two gunslingers were in competition for the same role, the veteran QB often gave guidance to the former Mr. Irrelevant. And when Garoppolo went down with an injury in Week 13, Purdy was there to pick up where he left off.

And the young QB partially attributes that to the help he received from the former QB1.

“In the huddle, you know, before he’s about to break a huddle and say a play, everything was crisp,” Purdy explained. “I learned a lot from Jim and just how a professional NFL quarterback is supposed to look and act at practice, and his leadership and talking to guys. He did a lot of great things [with the 49ers]. So, just my little time that I had with him this past season, it was a lot for me to learn and it was a blessing.”

The pair also discussed other topics outside of football, becoming friends off the field. But it was the football talk that has really helped Purdy develop, taking in the professionalism of Garoppolo day in, day out.

“I mean, at our lockers and stuff, we just talked about life and things that he’s been through with football and myself. And then obviously, the biggest thing for me was just sort of observing. Obviously at practice yes, but like, even in the locker room, how he’s talking to guys and interacting with guys in the locker room. So whether he knows it or not, I learned a lot from him. And I’m very appreciative of that,” Purdy said.

Garoppolo was also thankful for his time with the Red & Gold, speaking f0ndly of his former teammates Thursday.

“Those are my brothers, I love those guys. We had a good time out there,” Garoppolo said.

“First play, Dre (Greenlaw) was talking. Got things going right away.”

Jimmy Garoppolo moment after scrimmaging against his old team, the @49ers after having a strong day for the @Raiders

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— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) August 10, 2023

Now at the head of the 49ers’ table, Brock Purdy is determined to come back even stronger in year two. But first, he has to get back to 100%.

The Arizona native is five months removed from UCL surgery on his throwing arm. Despite that, the QB has been cleared to be a full go on the practice field. And while he is still working his way back into game shape, the QB feels confident in his surgically repaired arm.

“In terms of arm and everything, yeah, arm feels great. Just still building back-to-back days and trying to gain all the strength that I can back from obviously just the rehab process of things. And I feel really confident,” Purdy said.

Already ruled out of the first preseason contest with Las Vegas Sunday, Brock Purdy would like to get some in-game work this preseason. But that all depends on how he responds in practice, and what the coaching staff thinks is best.

“I think eventually we’ll be able to get to that point, yeah. I don’t think there’s a necessity to do it like this week or anything like that,” Purdy stated. “Eventually, hopefully, we can get to a point where we can talk about that.”

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