49ers will ease Garoppolo into camp.
Garoppolo taking it slow as he returns; McKinnon starts on PUP list
SANTA CLARA >> Jimmy Garoppolo’s reconstructed knee gained full clearance Friday to take on the 49ers’ new and better-be-improved pass rush at training camp.
He just won’t be allowed to debut his comeback in the Aug. 10 exhibition opener against the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Kyle Shanahan ruled that out, with a wait-and-see approach for the other exhibitions ahead of the Sept. 8 regular-season opener in Tampa.
“That’s something you feel out through training camp, see how practice is going, the reps we are getting,” Garoppolo said. “Preseason is different than normal games. Whatever coaches and the training staff come up with, I’ll be ready for it.”
The same goes for linebacker Kwon Alexader, who, like Garoppolo, is coming off anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
Running back Jerick McKinnon’s ACL comeback is not going as stress-free, and general manager John Lynch said “a little flare up in the knee” prompted McKinnon to start camp on the active/physically-unable-to-perform list, along with safety Jimmie Ward (collarbone), center Weston Richburg (knee) and tight end Garrett Celek (back).
No one’s health is more vital than Garoppolo’s, not only because of his position but also the fact he’s made only 10 starts in five seasons. He got hurt in Week 3 last season, souring the 49ers’ chances after his 5-0 franchise debut in 2017.
“Jimmy hasn’t played a lot of football,” Shanahan acknowledged. “Everyone knows he’s a good player and talented. He’s got to go through some situations that come from playing the position. I’m so pumped he’s healthy.”
Shananahn is so convinced the franchise’s culture, roster and quarterback are primed for success that he told his team a couple months ago they finally must win.
“He’s right. Bottom line, that’s what this game is about,” Garoppolo said. “It’s about production, getting wins, playing good football on the field. It’s that time of year again. I can’t wait.”
Garoppolo and his teammates, not just those coming off injuries, will be eased into action this camp, due in part to two injuryplagued seasons and the implementation of a new medical and training staff.
As for whether to risk Garoppolo in the exhibitions, the 49ers need only look to former Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, who tore his left ACL in 2013 and did it again in the 2014 exhibition season. MCKINNON’S STATUS >> McKinnon did not require a follow-up procedure, and the running back-stocked 49ers are expected to rest him a week before further testing his right knee, which he hurt a week before last season began.
“Jerick has had a tremendous recovery, and about a week and a half ago had a little flare up in the knee,” Lynch said. “We anticipate him back quickly.”
That setback casts Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida as the probable options to see more action as the season gets underway. McKinnon still could be ready by the season opener, as is the plan for Richburg, last year’s other high-priced acquisition in free agency. VERRETT CLEARED >> Another green-lit comeback is that of cornerback Jason Verrett, whose surgically repaired Achilles has been cleared. He will make his 49ers practice debut and challenge Ahkello Witherspoon for the starting spot at right cornerback while Richard Sherman, healthier than last season, returns at left cornerback.
“A lot of people will see a corner they didn’t realize was as talented and as good as he is,” Sherman said of Verrett, who tore an Achilles last year as Chargers camp began. “He’s scrappy and won’t back down to anybody.”
Elsewhere in the secondary, Ward is expected to be cleared by the second exhibition, Aug. 19 at Denver. He broke his collar bone in May.
REGIME DRAMA >> Shanahan and Lynch took turns disputing a recent report of “friction” among them.
“For anyone to question our relationship is the stupidest thing ever. Hang around us,” Shanahan said with a snippy tone.
Three months ago, that relationship surprisingly got called into question via a Bleacher Report article, with NFL columnist Matt Miller citing annonymous team sources who claimed Shanahan does not trust Lynch’s decision making or do they share the same vision. EARLY REINFORCEMENTS >> Tight end Niles Paul, who played three years in Shanahan’s system at Washington, was expected to sign and compensate for Celek’s PUP assignment, while offensive lineman Dillon Day got signed to help cover for Richburg. Ben Garland took first-team snaps at center during the offseason program.
GOULD ARRIVES >> Kicker Robbie Gould expressed gratitude for working out a four-year contract with the 49ers after holding out from the offseason program. He challenged a reporter’s suggestion that Gould preferred re-signing with the Chicago Bears.
“Did I say I wanted to go back to the Bears? Ok. Next question,” said Gould, adding that he’s stayed in “great shape” while training near his Chicago-area home.