The San Francisco 49ers signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a five-year contract worth a maximum of $137.5 million this past offseason. At the time, the deal was the most lucrative ever given to an NFL player, demonstrating the extent to which the team viewed him as indispensable to their future. Then he tore his ACL in week three of this year, significantly complicating things.
Jimmy Garoppolo Undergoes Knee Surgery
Garoppolo underwent surgery this Wednesday to repair the torn ACL in his left knee, according to Matt Maiocco. The fate of the 49ers going forward is resting on the success of this surgery, and if Garoppolo is able to return to the level of play he flashed to earn that huge contract. Kyle Shanahan is saying that it’s too early to determine a detailed rehab plan for Garoppolo, but that he’s expecting him to be ready for next season.
The team is expected to roll with C.J. Beathard at quarterback for now, although theoretically, that could change if Beathard struggles. Nick Mullens is the only other quarterback currently on the roster, and he has never played a down of NFL football after going undrafted back in 2017.
Garoppolo’s recovery will likely be the biggest story for the team next offseason, just because of how important he is to their plans. Each player is different, and there are a lot of variables, but recoveries from torn ACLs typically take anywhere from six to nine months.
The 49ers Moving Forward
From the 49ers perspective, it’s probably better that this injury happened earlier in the season because it doesn’t pose as high of a risk of affecting next season. The counterargument to that, though, is that more playing time from Garoppolo this season could have set the team up for a potential playoff spot. However, even if Garoppolo had been able to lead the 49ers into playoff contention, it’s not like they would have been a legitimate threat after Garoppolo went down.
Beathard had his decent moments against the Los Angeles Chargers last week but also committed debilitating turnovers that cost the 49ers a chance to win the game. Even beyond the monetary commitment the team made towards Garoppolo, he doesn’t run any risk of losing his job.
There’s an obvious talent gap between him and Beathard, so it’s not like Garoppolo should feel any extra stress of possibly losing his starting job for next season during this injury.
He just needs to take his time and ensure that he gets as close to full strength as possible before he returns to action next season.
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