The results of an MRI on Monday are likely to officially end San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that the team fears its quarterback suffered an ACL injury in the fourth quarter.
"It does seem to be as bad as we fear," NFL insider Ian Rapoport said on Good Morning Football Monday morning. "Jimmy Garoppolo is going to have MRIs today, but as is often the case with ACL injuries, trainers and doctors can tell right on the field, they do a couple of stability tests, and generally they know if something is very wrong, if the knee is stable. It was very clear yesterday that this is something they believe is very wrong, expected to be out for the season with a torn ACL."
The 49ers appear to be moving forward with second-year quarterback C.J. Beathard filling in for Garoppolo. Beathard appeared in six games (where he actually threw a pass) with five starts and completed 54.9 percent of his passes for 1,430 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions.
The 49ers will either sign a quarterback or promote Nick Mullens from the practice squad this week, but it is unlikely meant to be as a replacement for Garoppolo. Whoever joins the active roster will likely serve as Beathard's backup.
"The 49ers just do not seem to have, right now, a lot of great options as far as somewhere where they could acquire a quarterback," Rapoport continued. "Could they go to the Eagles and say, 'We'll give you a moderate, mid-round draft pick for Nick Foles'? Maybe. What about Teddy Bridgewater from the Saints? Probably unlikely.
"Certainly these are the types of things that they'll at least kick around. It's just hard to imagine a big-time blockbuster trade for any sort of quarterback that will put them in a better position than Beathard, who has started games, who has experience, who knows this system. It certainly seems like that's the way they're going to go going forward."