Tom Brady once faced the test Jimmy Garoppolo confronts, a grueling rehab after a knee injury took him out while the season was still young.
"I feel terrible for him," Brady said Monday on WEEI in Boston. "It's a tough injury. I feel bad for Jimmy, and it is football. Things happen like that. I've been through an ACL. It just sucks. You hate to see people go down, and (Jimmy) is someone I really like and have been friends with since the day he got here. It just sucks to have to go through that."
Brady and Garoppolo's knee injuries happened in much different manners. TB12 tore his ACL in Week 1 of 2008, when he took a low blow from then-Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. Jimmy G blew his tendon on Sunday scrambling outside the pocket on a non-contact play.
Brady also had three Super Bowl victories and was coming off an NFL MVP when he injured his knee. Garoppolo's happened after 10 career starts. (At least the 49ers QB got paid recently.)
The Niners hope Jimmy G bounces back like Brady did. Since the knee injury, the Patriots quarterback hasn't missed a game due to injury, has made nine straight Pro Bowls, won two Super Bowls, two SB MVPs, two first-team All-Pros, and two MVP awards, including last season.
Garoppolo's injury devastates the 49ers' current season, but shouldn't dampen their outlook at the QB position for years to come.
