San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo Out for Season with Fractured Foot

Posted on: December 5, 2022, 08:55h. 

Last updated on: December 5, 2022, 11:54h.

Pauly McGuire Read More
Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins in Week 13 despite losing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending foot injury.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo foor injury Brock Purdy
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hesitates to stand up after suffering a foot injury against the Miami Dolphins at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. (Image: USA Today Sports)

Garoppolo fractured his left foot after he was sacked in the first quarter. He will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the regular season.

It’s pretty crushing,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “We know what Jimmy’s been through, how hard he’s worked at this.”

Rookie backup Brock Purdy came off the bench and led the 49ers to an impressive 33-18 victory against the Dolphins.

The 49ers extended their winning streak to five games and improved to 8-4 on the season. They retain a one-game lead over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. The 49ers are -450 odds to win the NFC West, while the Seahawks are +350 odds to win the division.

If the season ended today, the 49ers would lock up the #3 playoff seed in the NFC. They have the third-best record in their conference behind the Philadelphia Eagles (11-1) and the Minnesota Vikings (10-2). The 49ers are +550 odds to win the NFC Championship as the third-favorite on DraftKing’s NFL futures board, trailing the Eagles (+190) and Dallas Cowboys (+300).

The 49ers are +1200 odds to win Super Bowl LVII as the fifth-highest team on the board. They were +650 odds entering Week 13, but their Super Bowl odds dipped after Garoppolo’s injury.

First Trey Lance, Now Jimmy G

The 49ers lost their second quarterback to a season-ending injury. In the second game of the season, Trey Lance fractured his ankle in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Garoppolo began the season as the backup behind Lance before coming off the bench to lead the 49ers to victory over the Seahawks. Garoppolo had been the starting quarterback since Week 3, but he only lasted 10 weeks before getting bitten by the injury bug.

In the preseason, the 49ers said Lance would be their starter this season, which led to rampant speculation that they’d trade Garoppolo. Numerous teams were linked to a Garoppolo trade in the offseason, including the Washington Commanders, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans.

The 49ers never traded Garoppolo and always intended to keep him as an expensive backup quarterback and mentor to Lance. However, an injury to Lance thrust Garoppolo into action.

Garoppolo is in the final year of his contract and he becomes a free agent next season. The New York Jets, New York Giants, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans are teams that could potentially sign Garoppolo next season.

Garoppolo posted a 7-3 record as the starting quarterback this season. In six seasons with the 49ers, Garoppolo has a 39-17 career record as a starter. During his stint with the 49ers, Garoppolo led them to Super Bowl LIV, and to two appearances in the NFC championship game.

In 11 total games this season, Garoppolo completed 67.2% of his passes for 2,437 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw only four interceptions and got sacked 18 times. He also added two rushing touchdowns.

Who is Brock Purdy?

Purdy was a seventh-round draft pick out of Iowa State and the last player picked in the 2022 NFL Draft. That player gets designated as “Mr. Irrelevant” as an inside joke. In Purdy’s case, however, Mr. Irrelevant led the 49ers to a huge victory in Week 13, and will take over the team in the final stretch of the season and into the postseason.

Purdy looked strong in his debut. He completed 25-for-37 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked three times and threw one interception.

During his first drive, a calm Purdy engineered a nine-play, 54-yard scoring drive. He completed his first touchdown pass to Kyle Juszczyk to put the 49ers ahead 10-7. Toward the end of the second quarter, Purdy completed his second touchdown pass to Christian McCaffery, which put the 49ers ahead 17-10.

The 49ers’ defense held the Dolphins to seven points in the second half. Robbie Gould connected on three field goals in the second half, and Dre Greenlaw added a 23-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to ice a 44-17 victory.

That was a really cool game, just as a team and all the stuff that went on throughout the game and just be able to overcome some things,” added Shanahan. “It’s such a special win. But definitely mixed emotions hearing about Jimmy G.”

The 49ers will continue with Purdy at starting quarterback. After the game, the 49ers signed journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson off the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was the emergency quarterback behind Purdy versus the Dolphins. Quarterbacks Jacob Eason and Kurt Benkert previously spent time on the 49ers practice squad this season.