Jimmy Garoppolo start or sit: Week 8 fantasy football advice

The San Francisco 49ers head to Jimmy Garoppolo’s old stomping grounds in Week 8 when they travel to face the Chicago Bears. Garoppolo is an Illinois native, growing up in a suburb of Chicago and attending Eastern Illinois University. It’s safe to say he’ll have a few extra ticket requests for Sunday’s game.

Garoppolo is back in the saddle after a calf injury cost him Week 5. The 49ers had a bye the following week and Garoppolo moved back into the starting lineup in Week 7. Trey Lance appears to be on the mend from a knee injury, but Kyle Shanahan made it clear Garoppolo is his starting quarterback.

Fantasy Football analysis: 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Garoppolo has struggled with consistency in his time with the 49ers. He’s got enough upside to help guide the team to a Super Bowl appearance, but his floor is plenty low for fantasy football managers to consider. In his first three games, he averaged 16.3 points per game. He had 8.6 points in a half of Week 4 football before leaving with the calf injury, and then had 5.24 in a full game against Indianapolis. The game was played in a monsoon so I suppose there is an excuse there.

Garoppolo has been one to make a couple big plays that boost his numbers, but for much of the game he’ll struggle to consistently find his receivers. If we just took his 16.3-point average from the start of the season, he would rank 23rd among quarterbacks. That’s barely QB2, and this week he faces a Bears defense that isn’t awful against opposing quarterbacks. They give up the 13th fewest fantasy points to the position. There’s no real value in starting Garoppolo in fantasy football.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

Sit him.