Google News 49ers coach addresses possibility of Jimmy Garoppolo playing again in 2022
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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan admits that it is unlikely that Garoppolo will be able to return during the season. Garoppolo sustained a broken left foot on Sunday but will not require a surgery. Instead, Garoppolo will complete a rehabilitation process and should be all good once his foot heals.
This week, it has been reported that Garoppolo may be able to play again in seven or eight weeks. Since the 49ers own an 8-4 record and are sitting at the top spot of the NFC West, they will likely make the playoffs. Should the 49ers make a deep playoff run, Garoppolo may play again this year.
But coach Shanahan underlines that he is "not real optimistic about that." "It will be a big recovery but much less than what we anticipated, which is awesome news for him in the offseason. He'll be good to go right away, so it won't be like last year.
There's a way outside chance late in the playoffs or something like that, but it's just an outside chance. We're not real optimistic about that, but they didn't rule it out," Shanahan said, per ESPN.
Shanahan not putting Garoppolo on IR
Shanahan also confirmed that the 49ers won't put Garoppolo on IR.
"We have got to play that by ear with our whole roster. Our goal is to get to the playoffs, so we've got to make sure we do the best thing possible for that. That's the issue with IR. Most likely, if that did happen, he wouldn't be able to come back for that, so we'll see how these IR decisions play out over the next couple of weeks," Shanahan said.
With Trey Lance suffering a season-ending injury and Garoppolo likely out for the season, the 49ers plan to start Brock Purdy at the starting quarterback spot. Purdy was famously the last played selected in this year's NFL draft.
However, he has the full belief of his teammates. "It's such an unlikely story to have Mr. Irrelevant come in, lead the Niners to a Super Bowl. I think that's what everybody's going to write us off on, and that's fine. If that's what everyone wants the narrative to be, I'm completely fine with that.
I'm so completely laser-focused, just like I know the team is, on taking this thing one week at a time," 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said of Purdy.