There was no word of it after the game in Dallas, but Kyle Shanahan told the media on Monday that Jimmy Garoppolo had suffered a slight shoulder sprain in his throwing arm.
As could be expected, this led to questions about whether the injury affected Garoppolo’s second half performance against the Cowboys and his availability for Saturday in Green Bay.
Garoppolo struggled throughout the second half, completing only five of 11 pass attempts for 39 yards and an interception, which led to some tense moments late in the game.
Here is what Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo and Mike McDaniel had to say about the injury before practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Question: Jimmy’s performance, his accuracy, was remarkably different in the second half. It looked like he got hurt on his last throw of the first half. Could you attribute any of that to his shoulder injury?
Kyle Shanahan: “You can ask him, but no, I don’t. I think he did it earlier than his last throw. I think he did it earlier in the second quarter, I think. But he had two throws that were off, and I personally don’t think it had to do with his shoulder.”
Question: Feel free to make excuses if you want here, but obviously, your performance in the second half wasn’t as good as your performance in the first half. How much, if any, did that have to do with your shoulder injury?
Jimmy Garoppolo: “Well, I mean the shoulder, yeah, being a quarterback, it affects every throw. So, it definitely had some impact, but if I’m out there and I’m being put in that spot, I still have to make the plays that I normally make. So, no excuses or anything like that. The injury is what it is. We’re all dealing with stuff now.”
Question: How is Jimmy Garoppolo doing? What do you anticipate him being able to do at practice?
Mike McDaniel: “With the way Jimmy takes care of himself at this point in the season it would be like pulling teeth to get him not to do everything he can to perform at his highest level. So, it’s a bump and a bruise that for him is a big deal, but Jimmy is doing whatever it takes so he can perform at the level he needs to on Saturday. I don’t have a crystal ball but not too concerned, the practice is yet to happen, but I’d anticipate him to throw it well today.”
There has been no official word from the team about whether Garoppolo will start on Saturday. But it would be shocking if he is not in the huddle when the San Francisco offense takes the field for the first time.
Injury or not, it’s clear that Shanahan believes Garoppolo gives the 49ers the best chance to win, not Trey Lance.
Shanahan showed this in week 18 by inserting Garoppolo back into the starting lineup for a must-win game in Los Angeles instead of sticking with Lance, who was coming off a strong start a week earlier against Houston.
Despite up and down performances against Los Angeles and Dallas, Garoppolo has made the belief Shanahan has in his abilities pay off by making enough plays to help his team win and advance.
Garoppolo is 20-6 on the road as the starting quarterback in San Francisco, the second-best total since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, and he will have need to play well on Sunday for the 49ers to defeat the Packers in Green Bay.
With the weather expected to be in the low 20s and a chance for snow, Garoppolo, a Midwest native, is ready for the challenge.
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve played in the cold my whole life, so I don’t think it’ll be anything too crazy with that,” said Garoppolo. “But yeah just learning to adjust, changing whatever you have to change, but that’s what this week of practice is for. You kind of get used to those things, so we’re in a good spot though.”
Does anyone really, truly, honestly believe Aaron Rogers is
going to let Garoppola and the 49ers beat him Saturday in Green
Bay???
So are you predicting a loss? You know it’s not a contest between 2 quarterbacks, but a contest between 2 teams. Jimmy has beaten Rogers in the past if you want to look at it that way.
No I think the Packers defense is going to let Mitchell, Deebo, and the 49ers offensive line (including George) beat them.
Yes.
You might want to revisit the 49ers Packer recent playoff history .
Hey Gary wrong site, This is niners country, besides Aaron is going to play offensive line and run the ball
in addition to play calling and quarterback ?
Sorry, but the shoulder isn’t responsible for Jimmy’s struggles. He plays like that even without injury. He is hot and cold all the time. Looks great for a couple of series, then he will come out and throw the most bone headed passes you can imagine. He also can play terrible for an entire half, we have seen that a few too many times. He is what he is at this point, you just know that sooner of later his awful tendencies will rear their ugly head.
Yea, probably a sprained thumb and a sprained shoulder both to his throwing arm don’t matter at all. How silly for the rest of us to think it might.
I don’t think there is any doubt, the 49ers are rolling with Jimmy G against the Packers. It will be the normal Jimmy experience. I’m a bit curious how the 49ers RBs will handle the cold weather. Jeff Wilson is from Dallas and Elijah Mitchell is from Louisiana. Not sure if either of these guys have ever played in such a cold environment.
Honestly the cold weather nonsense is blown a bit out of proportion. It’s 100% mental. If you let all the hype get to you, then the home crowd will finish you off. Athletes don’t have a real issue playing in sub-zero temperatures. Having lived in Chicago for many years I can tell you my way of dealing with the onset of winter was to go out on my balcony bare chested for an hour on the first freezing day each season. After that I was good and ready to roll for the rest of winter. I think Marquise Goodwin did something similar prior to a December game at Lambeau many years ago.
Athletes build up plenty of heat in the course of action. Maybe the kicker or punter or backups who are left on the sidelines watching may be affected, but there is no reason why a regular/starter shouldn’t put all the nonsense aside and just play with confidence.
In 2019 the team visited Baltimore which was in the low 40s and quite rainy, but managed to put on a good effort. Guys like Raheem Mostert, a back which relies on quickness and which you would expect to fold under less than his Miami-area weather conditions, thrived in that game. This team is a physical team, but more importantly, they have quite a bit of mental toughness as well. Not worried about weather.
Moreover, the fair weather Tampa Bay Buccaneers did quite well in Green Bay last year with game time temperatures below freezing and some snow in the forecast.
As a former collegiate football player I completely disagree with you. 40 degree weather is completely different that single digit or weather in the teens. If there’s a wind chill it’s worse. The ball gets extremely hard and your fingers feel brittle. Players will play through because their professionals, but it’s a factor. And yes its mental, and yes players will go out in The cold without a shirt, others typically lineman won’t wear a shirt at all, but most of that is to psych themselves up. It’s not blown out of proportion, it’s real. Some just handle it better than others.
Yes, agree with the hands/fingers, and of course toes. I think that can be overcome but sure, have to worry about the slick ball both in Jimmy’s hands and receivers’. I think if they don’t dwell on it too much and not get freaked out by the initial stinging in their fingers they should be okay. Most of the players should be able to get past these issues and not let themselves dwell on it. The mental fortitude of this team is strong and I think they will be fine. The ground isn’t an issue because there is no such thing as the frozen tundra at Lambeau as they heat their field from underneath and it will be warmer than the air around them. I think the ground registers around 40F if I’m not mistaken, but it was years ago that I learned about the whole Lambeau experience while I was on a contract up there and in Milwaukee.
Yeah, I played some ball but I never played in cold like that. I’ve had multiple guys tell me they’d rather play with a wet ball than a frozen ball. That’s why I asked about the RBs. Apparently the ball gets extremely hard in frozen weather but also gets slick and can be hard to tuck away. The difference from playing in the 30s to playing in the teens is significant. Both teams play in it so effect should be same. Im just curious exactly how the weather may impact the game. More turnovers? Harder to pass? Shorter field goal opportunities so maybe going for it more on 4th down?
You better believe Kyle will start Jimmy, but will also have a full game plan for Trey should he need to come in.
I’m neither hoping for, nor predicting Trey to replace Jimmy during the game, but can you imagine the story line
if Trey comes in and wins in Green Bay!?
Brunskill better bring his A-game this time out. He was manhandled by Kenny Clark last time. Funny how he is so solid against Aaron Donald and almost no one else.
The Packers has a auto audible , Rodgers doesn’t call one if the defenders are playing close he throws deep and if thy play deep he throws short, it’s automatic; no need to say anything, but opponents doesn’t see this, I don’t understand 🤔