Jimmy Garoppolo no longer is on the 49ers, but fans had to do a double take during one play in Sunday's win to be sure.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy showed he learned a few things from the former 49ers signal-caller, sneaking in a game-tying touchdown as time expired in the first half of San Francisco's 30-23 win against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
It turns out, though, that Garoppolo never actually shared his QB sneak secret with Purdy.
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"We always tried to figure it out, like, 'What does Jimmy do so good with the QB sneak?' It's a question around the team," Purdy told reporters after the Week 2 win. "He just found little creases and whatnot, but got his shoulder pads down and would find a way. I don't think there's necessarily a secret to it or anything, at least as far as I know.
"But we watched a lot of the QB sneaks and stuff that Jimmy did well and what he did, so he did a good job with it and I learned a couple things, but he never really told me."
In six seasons with the 49ers, Garoppolo would stun even his own teammates with his tricky and crafty ability to pick up first downs or sneak into the end zone. And when he was asked about his clever ways, Garoppolo refused to disclose his secret to the media or anyone else.
San Francisco 49ers
And apparently, Purdy wasn't an exception either.
"I mean, nah," Purdy said with a smile when asked if Garoppolo's secret was shared with him. "But it's all good, man. I love Jim."
Now Purdy is left trying to crack the code on Garoppolo's perfect QB sneak, and so far, he's on the right track. And while he didn't get the secret out of Garoppolo, the notes he took by observing his former teammate appear to be paying off.