Jimmy Garoppolo had a rough 2019 preseason debut for the 49ers. That followed a horrid day at practice, where the quarterback threw interceptions on five consecutive plays.

While Garoppolo's issues might be chalked up to rust after he spent almost a year rehabbing from a torn ACL, what if there's another answer?

As you're aware, Garoppolo spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the New England Patriots. Garoppolo often is a topic of conversation in the Boston sports media scene, and his struggles in the 49ers' preseason game against the Broncos (1-for-6 passing for 0 yards with an interception), were discussed on the Patriots' radio broadcast Thursday night.

Patriots color man Scott Zolak dropped a little knowledge -- or baseless gossip -- about Garoppolo's time in New England, and it might explains his issues so far with the 49ers.

#Patriots color man @scottzolak just called Jimmy Garoppolo 'one of the worst practice quarterbacks we've had here.' — Marc Sessler (@MarcSessler) August 23, 2019

Garoppolo's poor practices apparently have been whispered about around the NFL.

.@greggrosenthal said he heard the same thing on a recent Around the NFL pod. Certainly possible, but at odds with reporting that Belichick was forced to trade Garoppolo and wanted to keep him around https://t.co/vmNaopvD6A — Kevin Cole (@KevinColePFF) August 23, 2019

As Pro Football Focus' Kevin Cole noted, this wouldn't jive with the number of stories that came out after the trade about coach Bill Belichick's displeasure with having to trade Garoppolo.

Poor practice habits are not tolerated at 1 Patriot Place. Regardless of talent, if a player doesn't practice correctly, he isn't there long.

Is Garoppolo a poor practice QB? Is it due to a lack of effort? Lack of talent? Is Zolak full of it? Money is on the last one.

[RELATED: Jimmy G ready to fight, not crumble after poor showing]

Garoppolo will look to bounce back in the 49ers' next preseason game, which is Saturday night against the Chiefs. Continued struggles only will make the whispers grow louder as it pertains to the 49ers signal-caller's overall ability and practice habits.