Throughout 2024 and even into the 2025 offseason, there was the fleeting hope the San Francisco 49ers would somehow get to face off against their former franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, who returned to the NFC West when he inked a deal with the Los Angeles Rams.
But that would mean L.A. had to be missing its own franchise signal-caller, Matthew Stafford, who despite approaching the twilight of his lengthy career has nevertheless remained healthy enough to face off against the Niners twice last year, beating head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad both times.
That might not exactly be the case in 2025, though.