Coach hopeful Garoppolo will start this week
With his quarterback unable to move in the pocket and unable to keep his team competitive, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan replaced Jimmy Garoppolo at halftime of Sunday’s 43-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Garoppolo was immobile and ineffective in a disastrous return
from a high ankle sprain as he completed 7- of-17 passes for 77 yards and tossed two interceptions before Shanahan replaced him with backup C. J. Beathard.
The 49ers don’t have a quarterback controversy, but Shanahan can’t yet commit to naming Garoppolo the starter for a “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers’ signal- caller must first demonstrate he’s healthy at practice this week, which may not be easy for a player who was clearly feeling the effects of a high-ankle sprain that forced him to miss the previous two games.
“I know he’s sore from the first half, I think his ankle is a little bit sore and his body a little bit from some of the hits that he had, but nothing thatmade it worse,” Shanahan said Sunday. “It was like you expect it after a game. Nothing too bad happened and we got him out of there before that did.”
Shanahan said one of the primary reasons he pulled Garoppolo was the massive 23-point
halftime deficit the 49ers faced. With the offense needing to pass to have a chance at erasing Miami’s lead, the 49ers didn’t want Garoppolo playing on an injured ankle behind an offensive line that’s been an obvious weakness for the team this season.
“We’ll see how he is on Wednesday, I expect him to be at least the same and if not better,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully we can get a week of that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and hopefully we get him out there Sunday night.”
Shanahan didn’t analyze Beathard’s performance during a Monday press conference and did not divulge any details on how the 49ers would proceed if Garoppolo is unable to play, but did say he wants to prioritize the run game moving forward. The 49ers averaged 6.9 yards per carry on 19 attempts against the Dolphins Monday, but early turnovers and a horrendous performance against Miami’s offense forced Shanahan’s offense to play from behind throughout the day. SHERMAN LIKELY TO MISS RAMS GAME » After a horrendous day for the 49ers’ pass defense in Sunday’s loss, the unit was ready to turn the page and welcome veteran leader Rich
ard Sherman back fromthe injured reserve list. The next page only contains more bad news.
Shanahan announced that Sherman has had “setbacks” while recovering from a calf injury he suffered in Week 1 against the Cardinals and the 49ers are no longer counting on him to play on “Sunday Night Football” against the Los Angeles Rams.
A defense that allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins to rack up 342 yards and three touchdowns through the air needs Sherman more than ever, but he’s not likely to see the field.
“Sherm, we were hoping to get him back this week, had some setbacks last week. The healing hasn’t gone the way we’re hoping for so I know we’re going
to try a few different procedures on him this week, but we’re not counting on him,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers’ head coach said the procedures were not surgical, but did not provide a timeline for when the corner might be available again. It’s possible Sherman could have more high-profile company on injured reserve too, as linebacker Kwon Alexander has an ankle injury that could be a high-ankle sprain.
Shanahan said the 49ers aren’t certain of the severity or specific nature of Alexander’s ankle injury, but indicated the team could discuss a possible injured reserve placement if he is indeed diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain.
Beside Sherman, the 49ers also missed others.