Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL Injury Hits 49ers Hard

Gabe Hougard (Twitter: @2logabe)

NFL

Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL Tear Sets Back Niners

Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL injury is not the way the San Francisco had hoped to start their season. Garoppolo suffered a non-contact injury to his left knee during the 4th quarter of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Garoppolo made a break down the left sideline, planting his left foot in an attempt to cut back inside and grab an extra couple of yards. His knee went out just prior to being hit by Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson. Garoppolo went down clutching his left knee following the hit.

It was fairly obvious at the time that the most likely cause of Garoppolo’s injury was a torn ACL. Niners fans and coaching staff alike waited with bated breath for some good news. No good news was to come, however. Coach Kyle Shanahan reported Monday that Jimmy had, indeed, torn his left ACL and would be out for the remainder of the season.

‘‘It is very unfortunate,’’ Shanahan said. ‘‘I’m not going to sugar coat it. It was hard waking up today. We were down and disappointed about it because we were looking forward a lot to playing with Jimmy this year and going through the good and the bad knowing that he’d benefit from all of it. Now we don’t get to do it. I know Jimmy is really down about it and so are we but it’s still going to be all right.”

Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL tear will sideline him alongside 49ers teammate Jerick McKinnon. McKinnon is also out with an ACL tear, suffering the injury during training camp. The Niners back was quick to throw his support behind Jimmy, tweeting after the news broke of the injury.

Should Garoppolo Have Stepped Out?

The debate has now ventured into whether Garoppolo should have stepped out of bounds or attempted to gain those few extra yards. It is good to have a quarterback who is not afraid to get out of the pocket and make a run. At the same time, however, you have to be looking out for yourself to avoid injury as the franchise quarterback.

Former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia spoke about Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL injury this week on Matt Maiocco’s 49ers Insider Podcast. Garcia was somewhat critical of Jimmy’s decision:

“As much as I want to be supportive of him as a competitor, because I know that feeling of wanting to do whatever you can for your team,” Garcia said. “You want to show your physical and mental toughness, but you also have to know your limitations. And I think in that situation, as much as trying to get 1 or 2 extra yards was probably on his mind, he has to understand that he’s not a typical running quarterback. That’s not his strength.”

What’s Next For The Niners?

Prior to the start of the season, many NFL analysts believed the 49ers would be capable of winning between 8 – 10 games. The Niners were favored as likely contenders for a spot in the NFC Wild Card game. With Jimmy Garoppolo’s ACL injury, those odds have drastically dropped.

At this stage, backup quarterback CJ Beathard will now take the reins for the remainder of the season. Beathard saw game time in 2017, replacing Brian Hoyer mid-way through the season.

Beathard is a gunslinger. He takes chances, which look great when they pay off. But on far too many occasions, those chances did not work out well. While Beathard has shown promise with the deep ball, his accuracy seems to be his biggest problem — on both his short and long passing games.

Beathard will need to ensure his passes are placed accurately to receivers, not behind them, to give them the chance to run onto the ball.

He will also need to release the ball quicker than last season, reducing the amount of sacks he will sustain. Beathard earned the respect of his team mates last year for the beatings he took in just about every game. Each time he went down, sack after sack, he got right back up and into the huddle.

Overall, Beathard is a tough quarterback with the confidence to run the ball when he needs to.

49ers Workout Free Agent Quarterbacks

The Niners worked out several free agent quarterbacks during the week for possible inclusion onto the roster for added depth. These included EJ Manuel, Landry Jones, Kellen Clemens, Tom Savage, Matt Simms, TJ Yates, and Kyle Allen.

The 49ers have not committed to signing any quarterbacks at the moment, instead promoting Nick Mullens off the practice squad to fill in as second string quarterback. Mullens had a reasonable preseason and, as long as nothing should happen to Beathard, this move should work for the remainder of the season.

Photo Credit: Gabe Hougard (Twitter: @2logabe)

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