Jimmy Garoppolo may not see his name on the injured reserve list after all for the upcoming game between the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the loss to the Tennessee Titans, plus in addressing his thumb injury on his throwing hand, Garoppolo told the Bay Area media on Wednesday, December 29, that he could play in the Week 17 home contest after all.
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It’s quite the turn of events considering how on Monday, December 27, Garoppolo was a no-show for the 49ers practice in what ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed was a “tear” and “fracture” on his throwing thumb.
49ers’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a right thumb UCL tear along with a fracture, per source.
But in speaking in front of reporters via Zoom, Garoppolo and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan not only revealed the true extent of his injury but also shared the optimism he’ll be behind center against the visiting Texans.
Sprained, Not Fractured
Via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Garoppolo never suffered a fracture in his thumb. Rather, he’s dealing with a sprain.
Kyle Shanahan: Jimmy Garoppolo has Grade 3 sprain of UCL thumb ligament, which pulled off a small price of bone. Garoppolo “has a chance” to play Sunday vs. Texans, he said. #49ers
Garoppolo did indeed play the Titans game with pain in his right thumb, which via this highlight clip from David Lombardi of The Athletic occurred during the second quarter of this Denico Autry sack.
Before the conspiracy theories get too wild, here’s video of Jimmy Garoppolo favoring his thumb immediately after Denico Autry slammed him into the turf late in 2Q. Garoppolo also appeared to mention the injury to Tom Compton immediately after it happened
And per Lombardi, Garoppolo described that moment when he knew something was wrong with his thumb.
“He hip-tossed me with my thumb,” Garoppolo said. “And then I landed on my thumb on top of that. So it was the perfect storm for a thumb injury.”
But Garoppolo refused to come out of the game. He helped orchestrate a 95-yard drive where he completed 5-of-7 passes including the 2-yarder to Brandon Aiyuk that tied the game up at 17-17.
Brandon Aiyuk with the TD to tie it up
“I played the entire game with it basically. It’s really about being able to grip the ball and doing the things I normally do and we’re going to test those out today and see how it feels, then go from there. But yeah, I feel confident in it,” Garoppolo said below.
“I played the entire game with it basically… I feel confident in it.”
-Jimmy Garoppolo on his thumb injury
Per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, Garoppolo said his thumb began to take a lesser level of pain once Christmas arrived — which was two days after his injury in Nashville.
“Christmas made it feel a little better,” Garoppolo said via Inman. “It’s a torn ligament though, so is what it is. The pain not going anywhere, and it’s about being confident and doing what I normally do. We’ll see what it gets us but I do feel confident about it now.”
Is Surgery Required?
Shanahan then explained what Garoppolo was really dealing with in his thumb and the burning question: Will surgery be required?
“On the third-degree sprain he had on his UCL, when that is ripped up, it pulled off a little fleck of his bone,” Shanahan said. “And when there is a bone that has something off of it, you can call it a fracture, you can call it a chip, you can call it something.
“But that really isn’t what’s keeping him out: It’s the third-degree sprain that he has. But because it’s not moving and stuff, and he doesn’t need surgery and he has a chance to play this week.”
The plan now: Test things out with the thumb for Wednesday’s practice.
Today will be the first time Jimmy Garoppolo will test his hand since Thursday’s game.
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49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo Updates His Likelihood of Playing in Week 17