The San Francisco 49ers have been trying to iron out their right guard spot for 2018 and Joshua Garnett was seen as a strong contender. Then he ran into knee issues which have kept him out for several days. Kyle Shanahan has said this is a concern, as Garnett has missed crucial reps. Shanahan said Garnett was seeking second opinions to see what the deal was, but not much was known beyond that.
Well, NFL Network’s Tom Pellisario reports that Garnett at least won’t need surgery. Instead he’ll continue rehabbing the issue. This is good and bad. Good because at least an injury won’t sideline him with necessary surgery, but bad because he’ll be focusing on getting his rehab up and might miss more time.
The extent of the injury is unknown but since it’s the same knee he had surgery on, he may miss more time as he gets things straightened out.
Kyle Shanahan has said that missing reps, especially at this point in training camp is detrimental and Garnett missing time whether injury or not. How long this rehab takes, no one knows. It opens the door for Mike Person and Eric Magnuson to possibly eclipse Garnett as the starting right tackle.
It’s nice Garnett doesn’t have to have surgery, but he’s still missing time, which may be too little too late.