Tom Brady 'happy' for 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo, 'very sorry for' injured Trey Lance

San Francisco 49ers second-year quarterback Trey Lance didn't make it through two entire regular-season games as the club's starter this month before he went down with a broken right ankle that required him to undergo campaign-ending surgery on Monday. That setback opened the door for veteran Jimmy Garoppolo to return atop the depth chart, and Garoppolo will guide the 1-1 49ers into their upcoming "Sunday Night Football" matchup at the 1-1 Denver Broncos this coming weekend. 

During Monday's edition of his "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast with broadcaster Jim Gray, Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller Tom Brady discussed the situation that directly impacts a former New England Patriots teammate in Garoppolo. 

"[I'm] obviously very sorry for Trey," Brady remarked, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "And I've followed that all offseason with Jimmy, you know, kind of in his rehab and I've known Jimmy so well. I've known Jimmy since he was a rookie and Jimmy and I have been friends a long time. And just seeing him, how he's handled kind of his adversity, is really gonna prepare him for what's ahead. It's interesting in the NFL, you know, when one door closes I think another one opens." 

The Patriots drafted Garoppolo in 2014, and he and Brady shared a quarterback room until New England traded the 30-year-old to San Francisco in the fall of 2017. Garoppolo underwent shoulder surgery this past March, and 49ers general manager John Lynch said ahead of the season that the procedure prevented him from locating a buyer for Garoppolo's services. Jimmy G ultimately agreed to a restructured contract to stay with the Niners in late August. 

"I think Jimmy and everyone were set on him being somewhere else," Brady continued during his comments. "And the reality is they found a place where they could agree on something that worked for both parties and sure enough the first game at it, Jimmy's out there playing with Trey getting injured. And as tough as it is for Trey to get injured, Jimmy steps in there and does a great job. So I think everyone is probably pretty happy with how things turned out from Jimmy's standpoint. Not with Trey and the injury. But things have a crazy way of working out. … You never know when that opportunity's gonna present itself and when you get it, you gotta go out and take advantage of it. So I was really happy for Jimmy to go in there and do a great job yesterday."

Garoppolo completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 154 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions to go along with a rushing score filling in for Lance during what became a 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks this past Sunday. 

As for the relationship between Garoppolo and Brady, they'll see each other when the 49ers host the Buccaneers in Week 14 on Dec. 11.