Report: Jimmy Garoppolo Cleared to Start for 49ers vs. Rams Despite Thumb Injury
January 8, 2022
The San Francisco 49ers will reportedly start quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed last week's 23-7 win over the Houston Texans with a Grade 3 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, for the team's road game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Garoppolo practiced on a limited basis Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The 30-year-old was candid about his injury when speaking with reporters this week (h/t Rob Guerrera of Niners Nation).
"F--k it. It hurts...Basically what we’re trying to do is let the bone reattach to the other bone. So it’s just a process. It takes time. I don’t know. We’ve been doing everything we can to speed it up, but yeah, you’ve got to let nature do its thing and let your bones heal up. But, at the end of the day, I know it’s not going to be 100 percent. I’m realistic about that, but we’re doing everything we can to get it as close as we can to that."
On Friday, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan declined to name a starter in his last press conference with reporters before the Rams game. Officially, the team hasn't announced that Garoppolo is the starter either.
However, all signs point to Jimmy G leading the way for the 49ers, who can make the playoffs with a win over the Rams or a New Orleans Saints loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Garoppolo has completed 67.97 percent of his passes for 19 touchdowns (10 interceptions this year) and 8.54 yards per pass attempt. Barring unforeseen circumstances, he will be QB1 Sunday.
Rookie Trey Lance, who spelled Garoppolo last week in the win over the Texans, will back him up.
Game time for the 49ers at Rams game is 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday at SoFi Stadium.