Photo Credit: 49ers
All signs are pointing towards the return of the 49ers’ franchise quarterback this Sunday. They just need to keep pointing that way through Friday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined the Murph and Mac Show on Friday, providing updates on Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert, and the backup quarterback situation.
The obvious question first. Is Jimmy Garoppolo going to play?
“It’s looking like that’s gonna be the case,” Shanahan said. “I definitely can’t make that decision just off yesterday. Him and Raheem are a little bit in the same boat. They haven’t been able to get in full practices, but they they’ve gotten better each day. Thursday was a lot better than Wednesday. If today continues that way then I think it’ll be looking pretty good. If he comes in today and he’s sore from yesterday and the work he put in or has any setbacks with our practice today, then we’re gonna have to wait another week, so it’s coming against to the wire a little bit but I’m hoping it’ll work out.”
Shanahan said the high ankle sprain Garoppolo has is particularly difficult to manage.
“I’ve been around too many guys with high ankle sprains that it can be perfect until all of a sudden, just one play, you get in one weird position and then it goes back to how it felt the week before,” Shanahan said. “High ankle sprains are just different. They linger for a while. And that’s why I’ve seen guys come back in two weeks from them and I’ve seen it linger with guys an entire season where they miss about five games and they come back for two and then they just do something little and then they’re messed up for three more weeks.
It’s just an annoying injury that you always think is better, but then you get reminded in one specific movement that you can’t replicate until it happens on the field, and then you’re reminded, ‘Oh wait, I’m not as good as I thought.’ That’s why we’re not trying to make any quick decisions with it. It has gotten better each day, but those high ankle sprains are always pretty weird.”
The backup quarterback situation isn’t as straightforward. For now, Shanahan’s keeping that under wraps because Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard have substantial differences in their quarterbacking style.
“I wish I could [say], but I can’t right now because I don’t want [the Dolphins] to know,” Shanahan said. “C.J. got more of the reps this week just because Nick’s got most of them the last three weeks. But both of those guys are capable to go and excited if Jimmy doesn’t go for you guys to find out on Sunday.”
As for Raheem Mostert, like Garoppolo, it really depends how he gets through practice on Friday. He’s been dealing with a reported MCL sprain and hasn’t played since the first half of the 49ers’ Week 2 game against the New York Jets.
“Same as Jimmy. He did a little less earlier in the week,” Shanahan said. “He got out there yesterday which gave me some hope. It’s gonna be a big one today seeing how he comes in. It’s always we judge how he sounds talking to him. We know how the doctors have already talked to me about him. And then we’ll see how his reps are and how he looks and see if he moves with the way, if it matches how he tells us he feels, and then we try to make a decision as a group off that.”
