San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo sprained his right thumb during Thursday’s night’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. Garoppolo was not available to practice on Monday and his status for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at Levi’s Stadium is unknown.
“It didn’t feel great today,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “He wasn’t able to throw today. And we’ll see how it is on Wednesday. Hopefully, it will get better.”
Garoppolo’s first throw of the third quarter on Thursday was an interception, which Shanahan believes was affected by the injury.
“It affected his throw, just talking to him and stuff, on the first play of the third quarter,” said Shanahan. “That was the one play it affected him the most.”
If Garoppolo doesn’t improve, rookie Trey Lance will get his second start. Lance has not thrown a pass since Oct. 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, when the rookie was 15-of-29 for 192 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in the 49ers, 31-17, loss.
“This last month of Trey has been his best consecutive four weeks of practice since we had him,” Shanahan said on a Monday conference call with the media. “He’s had a number of good days, and he’s had some bad days, like most guys do. As far as consistency, this last month has been his best.”
Kyle Shanahan said today that the last month has been Trey Lance's best month of practice. Feels like a Trey Lance vs. Davis Mills game is upon us, but time will tell. #49ers https://t.co/G62bmArwU4
— Tracy Sandler (@49ersfangirl) December 27, 2021
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Garoppolo’s injury is “more significant” than a sprain.
More Injury News
- LB Azeez Al-Shaair has a knee sprain and will miss the final two weeks of the regular season.
- Running back Elijah Mitchell has “a chance” to play this week, per Shanahan.
- Punter Mitch Wishnowsky has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
- CB Emmanuel Moseley and LB Dre Greenlaw both have a chance to play Week 18 against the Los Angeles Rams.