Discerning viewers Sunday night will see a familiar yet different look for the San Francisco 49ers, as Jimmy Garoppolo retakes the quarterback position for Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Garoppolo, who was the full-time starter in two of the past three seasons (he missed time in 2020 with a high ankle sprain), has seen success with San Francisco. He led them to a Super Bowl in 2019 and the NFC Championship Game in 2021, but a relatively conservative style and the pressure of Trey Lance being drafted third overall thrust Lance into the starting role this season.
Garoppolo, however, will retake the starting job in Week 3 against the Broncos, with Lance fracturing his ankle in Week 2 against the Seahawks. The hit came in the first quarter on a read option, when Lance was hit and fell back to the ground after being helped up. He was later ruled out for the season by Shanahan.
Although Lance is out and it will change the 49ers offense, Garoppolo does bring a winning pedigree. He is 31-14 as the 49ers starter, and the team has seen success under him. However, it’s a big blow for a team that seemed ready to usher in a new era.
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What is Trey Lance’s injury?
Lance was placed on season-ending IR with a fractured ankle Wednesday, three days after he sustained the injury against the Seahawks.
The hit came toward the end of the first quarter, when Lance had thrown just three passes. On a read option, Lance was hit by Bryan Mone and Cody Barton. Although Lance was initially able to get to his feet, he immediately crumpled to the ground again.
Trey Lance just went down with an injury. Jimmy G is in the game for the 49ers.
Prayers up for Trey 🙏 pic.twitter.com/lw6gqyGTvT
— Brian Y (@byysports) September 18, 2022
After Lance was placed on IL, Shanahan gave comments on him while saying he will be out for the rest of 2022.
“He’s doing as good as you can,” Shanahan said, per 49ers.com. “Trey has been great. A number of guys have all talked to him a bunch. He’s trying to come to the game this week. I don’t think he will be able to until the swelling goes down and stuff like that, but he’ll be back in and part of us sooner than later.”
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What are Jimmy Garoppolo’s stats with 49ers?
Garoppolo has been successful as a starter for the 49ers, despite their tumultuous offseason.
The former and current starter was shopped by the 49ers this offseason, but a shoulder surgery complicated settling on a trade package for him. As a result, Garoppolo was kept in tow on a one-year, $7 million deal.
Garoppolo has been with the 49ers for the past five years, and he has amassed a 31-14 record as a starter. He has, however, dealt with a myriad of injuries. He started his first game in 2017 in Week 13 and closed out the season 5-0. Against the Chiefs in Week 3 of 2018, Garoppolo tore his ACL. After playing through 2019, he aggravated an ankle injury and missed time in 2020 before starting 15 games in 2021.
Where the 49ers want to see Garoppolo improve is likely depth of target and interceptions. Garoppolo was in the bottom part of the league last year in intended air yard at 7.4, putting him in the company of Jacoby Brissett and Sam Darnold.
Here’s a look at Garoppolo’s stats in the past five years with the 49ers.
| Year | COM/ATT | COM% | YDS | TDs | INTs | RTG |
| 2017 | 120/178 | 67.4 | 1,560 | 7 | 5 | 96.2 |
| 2018 | 53/89 | 59.6 | 718 | 5 | 3 | 90.0 |
| 2019 | 329/476 | 69.1 | 3,978 | 27 | 13 | 102 |
| 2020 | 94/140 | 67.1 | 1,096 | 7 | 5 | 92.4 |
| 2021 | 301/441 | 68.3 | 3,810 | 20 | 12 | 98.7 |
| TOTAL | 897/1,324 | 67.7 | 11,162 | 66 | 38 | 98.3 |
The numbers are good overall, but there’s room for improvement. The team would undoubtedly like to see Garoppolo stay out of double figures in interceptions, as he’s yet to do so in a non-shortened season. That’s going to be a big part of his test, and it begins Sunday against the Broncos.
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