San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is battling an injury that could force him to miss this Sunday’s matchup against the Houston Texans. On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Garoppolo sprained his thumb when he was sacked during their 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the injury could be more serious than just a sprain.
“We’ll see how it is Wednesday,” Shanahan said, via David Lombardi of The Athletic. “Hopefully it gets better.”
Garoppolo sat out of practice on Monday due to the issue, and the team wants to see how he progresses before making a decision concerning Sunday. The 49ers starting signal-caller is coming off of a rough outing against the Titans, as he threw for 322 yards and one touchdown while tossing two interceptions in a second-half collapse.
If Garoppolo can’t go, in will step rookie Trey Lance, who the 49ers traded up to select with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The North Dakota State product has started just one game this season, a 17-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5. In the contest, he completed 15 of 29 passes for 192 yards and one interception. According to Shanahan, Lance has had “the best consecutive four weeks of practice since we’ve had him,” per Matt Barrows of The Athletic.
The 8-7 49ers currently hold the No. 6 seed in the NFC, which is the second of three wild card spots. Behind them are the 8-7 Philadelphia Eagles, 7-7 New Orleans Saints and 7-8 Minnesota Vikings. San Francisco likely can’t afford to drop its final two games of the season against the Texans or Los Angeles Rams, so Sunday is important.
