The 49ers agreed to terms on a five-year contract with Jimmy Garoppolo worth $137.5 million, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported, per a source informed of the decision. The deal is the largest in NFL history on an average-per-year basis.

In just seven career starts, Garoppolo has displayed unequivocally he's a franchise quarterback. Now he'll be paid like one.

Down the stretch of the season, Jimmy G elevated every player on the 49ers' roster. His pinpoint ball placement allowed previously third-fiddle receivers to morph into dangerous weapons. His quick trigger and ability to throw off his back foot aided a banged-up offensive line. His talent for moving the ball kept the 49ers' porous defense off the field and in positive situations.

In his first three games starting for the 49ers, Garoppolo led just one three-and-out punt. San Francisco scored on a whopping 62 percent of Jimmy G's drives this season -- for perspective, the Patriots were second at 51 percent.

Since he entered the NFL in 2014, Garoppolo has completed 67.3 percent of his passes (4th-highest, min. 250 attempts) with an 8.3 yards per attempt average (first) and a 99.7 passer rating (fifth).

In five starts with the 49ers (and limited weapons at receiver), Garoppolo completed 67.0% of his passes for an average of 308 yards and an 8.76 yards per attempt. He also threw six touchdowns and five interceptions in those five starts. He'll be ranked as a high-end QB2 in our early 2018 rankings.

Jimmy Garoppolo's late-season performance sends the San Francisco 49ers into the offseason with more optimism than typical for a team with a losing record.

Now the most important task of the offseason is locking up Garoppolo with a long-term deal.

"We're going to work hard to try to keep him as a 49er for a long, long time," general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. "We're really happy with the way he played. We think he's got some abilities that are unique and we want him here."

Garoppolo's arrival totally transformed a team that began the season with nine straight losses under first-year coach Kyle Shanahan and ended it with five straight wins after Garoppolo took over as starter. He threw for 1,542 yards during those starts and looked the part of a franchise quarterback the Niners (6-10) hoped they had acquired when they dealt a second-round pick to New England at the trade deadline, the story said.

There’s probably not a 3-10 team in the league feeling better about life than the 49ers.

And that’s easy to attribute to one guy in particular.

With quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo taking over two games ago and leading them to their first back-to-back road wins since 2014, the 49ers are feeling a new feeling — swagger.

“You can feel it in our building,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Guys are gaining that confidence.”

That was the goal when the 49ers made the trade for him, the story said. Garoppolo is a guy to keep an eye on the rest of this season and heading into next season, especially in Shanahan's offense. Some additional weapons in the offseason could also go a long way in increasing his fantasy value.

The Jimmy Garoppolo era in San Francisco begins in earnest on Sunday.

The 49ers announced Tuesday that the former Patriots quarterback will start against the Chicago Bears this week over incumbent C.J. Beathard.

Garoppolo threw a touchdown on his lone series against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12.

Related players: C.J. Beathard

Beathard was battling some injuries heading into this week which may have made the 49ers decision much easier. Garoppolo doesn't have a ton of weapons around him and is playing behind a bad O-line, but should have QB2 value going forward.

C.J. Beathard did not sustain a long-term injury, Kyle Shanahan said. He has a knee contusion and a hip strain. Decision by Wednesday on who will play QB for 49ers on Sunday.

Related players: Jimmy Garoppolo

With Beathard a little banged up after last week, Garoppolo would seem to have the upper hand leading up to the team's decision. We'll know the answer Wednesday.

After a big hit from end Michael Bennett, C.J. Beathard didn't do as he usually does and pop right back up. He hobbled to the sideline as Jimmy Garoppolo entered. Beathard is set for an MRI on Monday morning. The hope is that Beathard simply suffered a bruised knee, and he said after the game that he thinks he'll be all right.

Garoppolo ran three plays, eventually leading the team to a TD. HC Kyle Shanahan said those three plays will have nothing to do with who plays in Week 13. The team is looking to monitor Beathard's leg injury and get to Wednesday before making any decisions.

Getting C.J. Beathard healthy (thumb) and getting another week of learning for Jimmy Garoppolo will be important as HC Kyle Shanahan once again intends to institute his week-to-week approach in making a decision on who his starter will be. Like last week, Shanahan indicated that the quarterback who fares better in practice after the bye will start against Seattle.

Asked Monday if watching the film of Beathard's strong showing against the Giants had forced him to reconsider who will start against the Seahawks, Shanahan said nothing had changed, though he left plenty of wiggle room for a change should Garoppolo prove ready to go.

"We'll see how practice goes next week," Shanahan said. "C.J. played pretty well. I thought he had his best game. I think he’s gotten better each week in practice, and I think it showed in the game the most. I thought the guys played around him their best game, too, which definitely makes it easier to keep everyone out there and keep that going. We'll see how Jimmy responds this week. We'll get to work more one-on-one with him, get a little extra practice on Monday and see how it goes. We'll have our game plan done Monday and Tuesday and we’ll start practicing our game plan Wednesday.”

The story pretty much indicates going with Garoppolo would make the most sense for the team at this point. Unfortunately, the 49ers will play the Seahawks D Week 12, so it will be a tough matchup for either QB. However, it's a home game and the story makes it seem like starting Garoppolo at home could create more buzz and fill some seats. Either way, it looks like this decision is at least a week away from being made.

The 49ers don’t know when recently acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will make his debut.

Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after Sunday’s game that speculation Garoppolo would start in two weeks, following this week’s bye, is incorrect.

“That’s not my plan,” Shanahan said. “I don’t have a plan yet. There’s no way anything you guys hear reported could be accurate, because I just told you guys our plan.”

Related players: C.J. Beathard

Beathard is coming off a nice game against the Giants so the team may want to continue to see what he has. Still, with a week off coming up, Week 12 seems like a logical time to make the switch to Garoppolo, but as of now, the team isn't committing to that. It's hard to believe the 49ers don't have any plan for when to play him, however, especially for a guy they spent a second-round pick on.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan on QB Jimmy Garoppolo: "I can't promise you that he will play this year."

This indicates that Shanahan is in no rush to get Garoppolo under center. It will take time for him to learn the system, but we would expect the team to give him a few starts after the team's Week 11 bye.

Major QB shakeup: 49ers trading 2018 2nd-round draft pick to New England for Patriots’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo, sources tell ESPN.

In two starts in 2016, Garoppolo completed 42-of-59 passes (71.2% completion) for 496 yards (8.40 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was the most coveted backup quarterback in the league and he'll get his chance to start for a good offensive-minded coach in Kyle Shanahan. He's a must pickup in two-quarterback and superflex formats. His arrival is a boost for the entire offense, especially Pierre Garcon and George Kittle. It may take him a couple of weeks to get up to speed, but he should be in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.