Jimmy Garoppolo keeps getting misplaced praise for being a "winner"

I've got no issue with Jimmy Garoppolo. He seems like a nice guy. He has done very well with his God-given abilities. Hell, he probably even works on Tuesdays during football season.

But I definitely have an issue with low-hanging lazy takes. If you watched Monday night's game on ESPN, you heard one of the lowest and the laziest.

With a graphic on the screen showing Garoppolo's 41-19 record as a starter, Joe Buck said, "That top number. You cannot ignore that. He has been a winner in the NFL. Everybody wants to pick him apart. But look at that top number. And it's impressive."

Responded Troy Aikman: "At the end of the day that's all that matters. And he's been a big part in a lot of those wins as well. And I've always liked Jimmy. And when he has protection in the pocket, he can be as hot as anybody."

I don't rail against the idea that wins are relevant for quarterbacks; it varies from player to player. Some quarterbacks can elevate the players around him. They can get more out of them, as great leaders do. They can inspire them to do their jobs better. To take care of all details, from diet to lifting to hydration to rehab to film study to saying the right thing at the right time to get the right response — up to and including nonchalantly pointing out that John Candy is sitting in the crowd during nut-cutting time of the Super Bowl.

Some quarterbacks are incidental to winning. Garoppolo falls into that category. He doesn't elevate the team. He doesn't lead in the way others do. And, at times, his teams have won not because of him but in spite of him.

His interception on Monday night came on a play that, as Chris Simms explained it on Tuesday's PFT Live, was designed to pop receiver Davante Adams wide open for a long gain. Adams was indeed open. And Garoppolo didn't throw it to Adams.

But that's just the latest example. During the 49ers' run to the Super Bowl in January 2020, Garoppolo's carelessness with the ball ultimately freaked out coach Kyle Shanahan to the point at which the 49ers went extra-heavy on the run for the balance of the divisional round win over the Vikings and all of the NFC Championship win over the Packers, during which Garoppolo threw eight passes. For the entire game.

By Super Bowl LIV, Garoppolo was throwing the ball again — and he made enough mistakes to contribute to the 49ers blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead. Since then, he has had other bad moments in big spots.

Then there's this. If he was such a "winner," why did the 49ers work so hard to lose him? They gave up three first-round picks and a third-round pick to draft his replacement. Last year, they wanted to trade Garoppolo, but no one was interested. He took a lot less to stay as a backup. Then, after his contract expired, they gave no thought to offering him a spot on the roster for 2023 and beyond.

That's not how teams treat "winners." And the 49ers know Garoppolo far better than Buck, Aikman, or anyone else.

Again, that's not intended to be a criticism of Jimmy. It's aimed at balancing out the baloney that paints Garoppolo as some sort of upper-tier performer. He's not. Despite his record of wins and losses, he's viewed within the league as a bottom-third quarterback.

And the team that employed him for five-plus seasons didn't even see him as being worthy of holding its QB2 title.