Jimmy Garoppolo admits 49ers drafting Trey Lance in 2021 made 'real awkward' dynamic

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Jimmy Garoppolo is on his third NFL team after inking a three-year pact with the Las Vegas Raiders, starting a new chapter where he doesn’t have to worry about being a backup quarterback (at least not right now). 

Garoppolo may have had 10 starts last year with the San Francisco 49ers in his sixth season with the team – after spending his first three backing up Tom Brady in New England. But, when Week 1 began in the 2022 season, Trey Lance, the team’s third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was the starter. 

Lance, however, suffered a broken ankle in Week 2, leading Garoppolo to take over his starting role that he had since 2019 – a season in which he went 13-3 on the way to a Super Bowl appearance. 

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San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance hug before the Los Angeles Rams game on Jan. 9, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Now with the Raiders, Garoppolo was asked about the arrival of Lance, whose draft capital obviously meant San Francisco believed he was the future – not Garoppolo. 

"Yeah, the (2021 season) was real awkward," Garoppolo admitted to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver. "That was tougher than this past year, honestly. You’re always gonna be dealt a hard hand at some point, and you’ve just got to make the best of it, and that’s what I’ve tried to do. That was a hard time. But I had some good people around me to lean on. 

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"The brothers in the locker room, those guys played a