San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looked like a player who did not have any confidence in his ankle Sunday against the Dolphins. He was lucky only to have thrown two interceptions as Jimmy G was inaccurate all afternoon. Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game that he knew the 49ers would have to throw the ball a lot and that it didn’t make sense to leave Garoppolo in the game and take any unnecessary hits.
When asked about his status next Sunday against the Rams, Garoppolo said, “I really haven’t thought that far ahead. I guess we’ll just take it day by day with the ankle and see how it goes.” When asked about his status next Sunday against the Rams, Garoppolo said, “I really haven’t thought that far ahead. I guess we’ll just take it day by day with the ankle and see how it goes.” When asked if the ankle affected his play, Garoppolo said, “I felt it. I wouldn’t say it affected everything. It’s just one of those things you have to deal with. It was a tough one. I wanted to be out there with those guys.”
Garoppolo said that it never crossed his mind that he wouldn’t be able to play this week and that his ankle didn’t bother him leading up to Sunday. But he was limited in each practice, and while there’s no way to simulate the game speed, you have to imagine the coaching staff overlooked a possible limp—which was noticeable right away. It’s never a good look to pull your starting quarterback at halftime if your excuse is that “we were protecting him.” We’ll never know if that was the entire story or not, but Garoppolo won’t be any healthier headed into the worst part of the 49ers schedule. Also, if he’s hurt, he can’t practice. If you can’t practice, there’s no way to judge Garoppolo’s mobility and if he’s able to push off his ankle.
If Jimmy G can’t suit up, we’re staring at a C.J. Beathard game on primetime against a Rams defense that had eight sacks against Washington on Sunday.