Jimmy Garoppolo Injury Update: San Francisco 49ers Quarterback May Be Done For The Season With ACL Tear
Jimmy Garoppolo could be done for the season, with the San Francisco 49ers fearing that their new franchise quarterback may have suffered an ACL tear in Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
As the Chicago Sun-Times reported, the team fears that the knee injury that took Garoppolo out of the game may have been an ACL tear. As the NFL Network details, Garoppolo is set to undergo an MRI on Monday to assess the damage to his knee.
Garoppolo was injured when scrambling to the sidelines in the third quarter — fighting for extra yardage while engaged with Chiefs defensive back Steven Nelson. Garoppolo appeared to step awkwardly as he cut away from Nelson and then landed hard on the turf, with the Kansas City Star reporting that he suffered what was termed a “serious knee injury.”
Garoppolo was unable to leave the field under his own strength, and was carted back to the locker room in what appeared to be obvious pain.
While the exact severity of Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury has not yet been determined, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network took to Twitter to say that the team immediately feared he may have torn his ACL. Other quarterbacks have suffered ACL tears in recent months, most notably Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles. If Garoppolo did tear his ACL, he would almost certainly miss the remainder of the season.
Jimmy Garoppolo scrambles on third down and takes a big hit before he can get out of bounds. He’s injured on the play. #49ers #SFvsKC pic.twitter.com/yYlrg9haTO
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) September 23, 2018
The 49ers had hoped to compete for the NFC West title this season, but now have fallen to 1-2 and are now staring down a Los Angeles Rams team that looks to be among the best in the league. Losing Garoppolo would leave the team with backup C.J. Beathard, who last season completed just 54.9 percent of his passes for 1,430 yards. Beathard achieved four touchdowns and six interceptions last season.
Breaking: The 49ers fear QB Jimmy Garoppolo has a torn ACL. He will have an MRI on Monday, according to coach Kyle Shanahan. pic.twitter.com/h2x0TEzjdT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 23, 2018
Should Garoppolo be lost for the remainder of the year, the 49ers may need to look to the free agent market for another quarterback — or make a trade for a backup who can compete with Beathard, providing some insurance should the second-year quarterback also go down at some point.
If the reports are true, it would be a devastating blow to a team that went all-in on Jimmy Garoppolo in the offseason. These ill tidings come after the 49ers had traded a second-round draft pick to the New England Patriots to acquire Tom Brady’s former backup in Garoppolo. They then signed him to a five-year, $137.5 million contract in the offseason — making Garoppolo the highest-paid player in the league.
