Jimmy GaroppoloPhoto: Getty Images
It’s Wednesday December 7th and there’s still no clear picture of the timeline for Jimmy Garoppolo’s return to the field.
His season was declared over on Sunday. Just like Trey Lance in Week 2, Garoppolo’s foot was rolled up while tackling. Lance suffered a broken ankle and Garoppolo’s fracture was in his foot.
Then on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Garoppolo does not need surgery on his broken foot. He didn’t suffer a Lisfranc injury, allowing him to return to the field during the playoffs as his recovery time from his actual injury typically took seven to eight weeks.
Another day has passed and there is another update on Garoppolo’s injured foot. According to The Athletic’s David Lombardi, medical experts have said Garoppolo could be ready to play in six weeks given the right circumstances. That would put him on the field for a 49ers wild card game.
However, according to Kyle Shanahan, that last scenario doesn’t seem to have much of a chance. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he confirmed that Garoppolo does not need surgery, but at best the rehab should keep him out deep into the playoffs.
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The 49ers are championship-level racers, but they need someone in the driver’s seat who knows how to operate the clutch. Maybe Brock Purdy will figure out how to do it, but the odds that he’ll be able to shift quickly as Garoppolo aren’t very high.
Garoppolo will certainly feel a natural pressure to return to the field as soon as possible to lead the team, but his NFL career is also at a crossroads right now. Whether or not he can lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl championship may determine much of his football future.
Don’t forget that the NFL has told Garoppolo in every way they don’t want him. He and the 49ers were poised to part ways, and it would be logical to think there would be a robust trading market for a quarterback that within a few games would lead 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”.
Interest was so low that he returned to the 49ers on a restructured contract and spent the summer training at a different field from the rest of the team. Then Trey Lance suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, and left tackle exceptional Trent Williams was out the following week, missing out on 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 acted for Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers haven’t lost a game since Oct. 23.
Garoppolo had a chance to lead some other talented 49er teams to championships in 2019 and 2021. He collapsed late in both games, and the 49ers gambled away the lead. In addition, the teams watched the tape on Garoppolo. You know he’s not a dynamic quarterback. He cannot turn pieces that start out negative into positive ones. At least not regularly.
If the team is good, he can lead an offense that only calls for him to throw deep infield when the game is wide open and not attempt many long throws outside the numbers. Give Garoppolo a strong offensive line, players who can create after the catch, and a reliable running game, and under these ideal circumstances, he can lead a very good offense. However, that’s not good enough to justify trading desirable starting-caliber draft picks or talent in exchange for the privilege of paying him a starting quarterback salary.
But if he actually wins a Super Bowl, the math could change. Even though Garoppolo is the same quarterback with or without his Lombardi Trophy fingerprints, the glow from it can still make players appear taller than they actually are. Combine that with Garoppolo, who is a full free agent after this season, maybe a lucrative contract awaits him.
There is still a fairytale ending to this story 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 starting quarterback, he may have to adjust to life in the baseball cap.
There’s never a good time to break your foot, but the timing of this injury is particularly bad for Garoppolo. He led what was arguably the best roster in the league, but also a roster that’s in contention for the playoffs as a result of those preseason losses. Now he must hope that Mr. Irrelevant plays well enough to keep the 49ers in the tournament for the next five games and that he’s also healthy enough to keep up this postseason.
Yes, 49ers fans and staff may be worried about how the rest of the season will play out, but the ramifications of this season are greater for anyone in this situation than Jimmy G.
