Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur believes having Jimmy Garoppolo in the locker room will be beneficial for Los Angeles as the team prepares to face the 49ers on Sunday.

LaFleur spoke to reporters Thursday ahead of the Week 3 divisional game at SoFi Stadium and was asked how the former San Francisco quarterback’s presence would be beneficial.

“Probably more between Jimmy and Matthew (Stafford) maybe even just in the locker room in general,” LaFleur told reporters. “Anytime you’ve gotten a little bit more information when you’ve been in the locker room and the success that Jimmy has had in that locker room, I’m sure there’s a few things that I’m not being told and things like that. But just having Jimmy back now is great and it’s a benefit.”

Even though Garoppolo has been out of the 49ers for 18 months, he still has knowledge of San Francisco’s scheme that could be useful to Los Angeles.

Garoppolo was San Francisco’s starting quarterback for six seasons, leading the team to Super Bowl LIV. Though he was benched to Trey Lance at the start of the 2022 NFL season, he reclaimed the starting role after Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2.

After suffering a foot injury in Week 13 of that season, Brock Purdy took over as the starter, relegating Garoppolo to the bench.

After spending last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, Garoppolo was released and signed with the Rams in March. This is the 32-year-old’s first appearance for Los Angeles, as he was suspended for the first two games of the NFL season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

LaFleur has his own history with the 49ers, having served the franchise for four seasons from 2017-2020 as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.

Both the Rams and 49ers are battling injuries to their star players, with San Francisco without Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, while Los Angeles is without the duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

As has been the case since SoFi Stadium opened in 2020, the 49ers Faithful will be in attendance in droves, with an expected 62 percent of fans expected to don the red and gold. Expect a mixed reaction when Garoppolo takes the court, given his polarizing tenure in San Francisco.

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