San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery after San Francisco’s wild-card round victory against Dallas Cowboys last season. Despite also having a torn thumb ligament which eventually did not require surgery, the 30-year-old needs to repair the torn capsule in his throwing shoulder.
According to Dr. Christopher Emond, an orthopedic surgeon said that the quarterback’s surgery would not have a significant impact on his career in football.
“It wouldn’t be outlandish for him to be ready by the first or second preseason game in August,” said Dr. Emond, who works at Tri-State Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh.
The question stands whether the Illinois-native QB will stay or be welcomed by a new team. Although the decision fully goes to Garoppolo’s rights, the speed of his recovery will surely impact this.
49ers’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to soon undergo shoulder surgery that would sideline him until this summer, sources tell ESPN. It is not expected to impact his trade status and Garoppolo still is likely to be traded this month, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 1, 2022
Mike Tannenbaum on Jimmy G
Former NFL executive, Mike Tannenbaum, thinks the San Francisco 49ers are not doing the best move letting Garoppolo go. While most already assumed that the former New England Patriots will not be on Kyle Shanahan’s rosters, Tannenbaum believed that this is a misstep.
On Thursday ESPN’s Get Up video, Tannenbaum stated, “Right now, when you look around the landscape of the league, there’s probably at least a dozen teams that need quarterbacks.”
“We’ll be sitting here maybe three or four weeks from now saying, ‘I can’t believe quarterback X or Mitch Trubisky got this.’ And If I am the 49ers, I am not trading Jimmy G under any circumstances,” Tannenbaum added.
.@RealTannenbaum's takeaway from the NFL Combine so far:
“If I am the 49ers, I am NOT trading Jimmy G under any circumstances!" pic.twitter.com/WA2WkbhRM2
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 3, 2022
Tannenbaum believed that Garoppolo contributed to the winning of the team. Without Garoppolo as a quarterback, Shanahan’s team would lose. Instead, Tannenbaum stated that it would be ideal if the two, as in Jimmy G. and Trey Lance played together to compete.
“I am not trading Jimmy G. [R]un it back. Let Trey Lance come along. Maybe he beats him out. Why not operate from a position of strength and not weakness?”
Meanwhile, John Lynch, General manager who admitted to be discussing trade during the NFL Combine, has not dismissed the possibility of keeping the 2013 Walter Payton Awardee in the team.
“If we have (Jimmy G. and Trey Lance) of them again, and let them go compete, then we’re happy to do that as well,” Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area. “And we’re capable of doing that with our cap.”
John Lynch on Garoppolo’s surgery
Meanwhile, following the 49ers’ loss against the Rams in the NFC Championship game, Garoppolo’s shoulder injury is not something that the team figured might be the case for the quarterback’s performance.
In a Wednesday interview on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, General Manager John Lynch admitted that he did know that the injury was serious.
“We didn’t know and I don’t think Jimmy knew [that he would need surgery]. I think he’s made a decision here in the last couple of days,” Lynch said.
.@49ers GM John Lynch on the future of Jimmy G and the progress he's seen from Trey Lance.
"He's everything we thought he was when we traded a lot to go get him." pic.twitter.com/w5Sf0MzJLd
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 2, 2022
“The shoulder — I never like saying ‘minor’ when someone’s having surgery, but it’s a capsule issue in the back of his shoulder that you can try to rehab. But if it doesn’t get well with the rehab, then you go to the alternative route. And that’s what they’ve decided to do. So it’s going to take some time and he’s going to be fine.”
Regardless, Jimmy G. already has several suitors as reported by John Lynch including the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thus, the final decision will perhaps be made very soon enough.