It’s Wednesday, Dec. 7, and there may be nonetheless no clear image on the timeline for Jimmy Garoppolo’s return to the sphere.
On Sunday, his season was declared over. Identical to Trey Lance in Week 2, Garoppolo’s foot acquired rolled up whereas being tackled. Lance suffered a damaged ankle, and the fracture for Garoppolo was in his foot.
Then, on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Garoppolo will not need surgery on the damaged foot. He didn’t undergo a lisfranc damage, so together with his restoration time for his precise damage normally taking seven to eight weeks, he may return to the sphere in the course of the playoffs.
One other day has handed, and there may be one other replace on Garoppolo’s injured foot. Per The Athletic’s David Lombardi, medical consultants have stated that beneath the proper circumstances, Garoppolo could possibly be ready to play in six weeks. That will put him on the sphere for a 49ers’ wild-card recreation.
In response to Kyle Shanahan, although, that closing situation doesn’t seem to have a lot of an opportunity. He spoke to the media on Wednesday, and confirmed that Garoppolo doesn’t want surgical procedure, however rehab ought to nonetheless hold him out till deep within the playoffs at greatest.
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The 49ers are championship-level racing machine, but need someone in the driver’s seat who knows how to use the clutch. Maybe Brock Purdy can figure out how to work it, but the likelihood that he will be able shift gears quickly as Garoppolo is not very high.
Garoppolo will certainly feel a natural pressure to return to the field as fast as possible to lead the team, but his NFL career is also currently at a crossroads. Whether or not he can lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl championship may determine much of his football future.
Do not forget, that for all intents and purposes, the NFL told Garoppolo that they don’t want him. He and the 49ers were ready to move on from each other, and it would be logical to think there would be a robust trade market for a quarterback that came within a few plays of leading a team to a second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons. For many other quarterbacks the answer would be “yes.” For him, the answer was a resounding “no.”
There was so little interest that he returned to the 49ers on a restructured contract and practiced on a different field from the rest of the team during the summer. Then Trey Lance suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, and left tackle extraordinaire Trent Williams went down the following week and missed a month of action.
Just like Garoppolo’s 2021 season, the 49ers got off to a slow start. Then, as Williams, and other players, returned to the lineup the team improved. They also traded for Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers haven’t lost a game since Oct. 23.
Garoppolo had a chance to lead some other talented 49ers’ squads to championships in 2019 and 2021. He crumbled late in both games, and the 49ers blew leads. Also, teams have watched tape on Garoppolo. They know that he is not a dynamic quarterback. He can’t turn plays that begin negatively into positive ones. At least not with any regularity.
If the team is good, he can lead an offense that only asks him to throw deep down the field when the play is wide open, and not attempt a ton of long throws outside the numbers. Give Garoppolo a sturdy offensive line, players who can create after the catch, and a dependable running game, and under those ideal circumstances he can lead a very good offense. However, that’s not good enough to justify trading desirable draft picks, or starting caliber talent in return for the privilege of paying him a starting quarterback salary.
But if he actually wins a Super Bowl, the math may change. Even though Garoppolo is the same quarterback with or without his fingerprints on the Lombardi Trophy, the glow from it can still make players appear greater than they actually are. Combine that with Garoppolo being an unrestricted free agent after this season, maybe there is a lucrative contract waiting for him.
A fairy-tale ending to this story is still available for Garoppolo, but only if the 49ers win with him behind center. If they lose without him it’s going to be a tough free-agent market. If the 49ers win a title with Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback, he might need to get used to the baseball cap life.
There is never a good time to break a foot, but the timing of this injury is especially bad for Garoppolo. He was leading arguably the best roster in the league, but also a roster that is in a battle for the playoffs due to those early season losses. Now he has to hope that Mr. Irrelevant plays well enough to keep 49ers in the tournament over these next five games, and also that he will be healthy enough to suit up at all this postseason.
Yes, the 49ers fans and staff may be uneasy about how the rest of the season will play out, but the consequences of this season are higher for no one in this situation than Jimmy G.
