Normally when Kyle Shanahan discusses injuries, he either downplays the severity of the injury initially or doesn’t say anything at all. However, when it comes to Jimmy Garoppolo this week, Kyle took a different tack.
“[Jimmy Garoppolo] has a chance [to play this week]. It wasn’t as bad as we thought it might’ve been. Seeing him today, he’s in a lot of pain. He’s still sore. Hopefully by the time he comes in Wednesday, if it’s getting better, then he’ll have a good chance. Looking at it as a bruise. If it hasn’t improved at all by Wednesday, it’ll probably be a little bit longer.”
Kyle has been especially tight-lipped when it comes to the quarterback situation this year, so it was surprising to me to see him admit that Jimmy’s either back on Wednesday or not playing at all in Week 5. With Lance’s development held back due to the lack of reps a backup quarterback receives, it makes sense that Kyle will need him to get every single spec of practice time he can before his starting debut in Arizona.
Shanahan has been reluctant to make quarterback changes in the past. Remember, he initially didn’t think Jimmy Garoppolo was ready in 2017, even after multiple weeks with the team following the trade from New England. Garoppolo only became the starter after an injury to CJ Beathard forced Kyle’s hand.
Now, four years later, history is repeating itself. Hopefully, for the 49ers, if Trey Lance starts this week, his tenure begins exactly like that of the guy he’s replacing.
For more on this and all of the injury updates in Monday’s conference call with the media, listen to today’s 49ers in Five podcast - available anywhere podcasts are found. Please feel free to leave us a rating and review as well, as it really does go a long way.
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