All signs are pointing to a successful return for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is now over eight months removed from his ACL injury. The coaches expect their franchise quarterback to be cleared for team drills during training camp and remain hopeful that he will be the starter come Week 1 of the regular season.
While Garoppolo has been held out of 11-on-11 work and hasn't yet faced a pass rush, he has been receiving a significant workload during organized team activities. Garoppolo may have a brace over his left knee, but he has looked good dropping back and on the run.
The #49ers final open OTA practice ahead of mandatory minicamp is underway.
And so are Jimmy's drop backs. pic.twitter.com/AjKy6nhkVp
— Keiana Martin (@KeianaMartinTV) June 4, 2019
Garoppolo still has a lot of work ahead of him to stay on track with the training staff's rehab plan. His teammates and quarterbacks coach, Shane Day, are encouraged by his progress and remain confident in their quarterback's ability to return from the injury.
Trent Taylor is adding the deep ball to his repertoire this offseason. It remains a work in progress, but the third-year wide receiver has seen enough out of Garoppolo so far to realize that any doubts surrounding his recovery are misplaced.
"He's been looking great so far," Taylor told reporters on Tuesday. "I think our chemistry together has been going pretty well, other than a couple of deep balls like that. Other than that, I feel like he's been looking great. I think we've definitely been on the same page.
"There's little stuff here and there that you can't coach. It's just something you've got to know between the receiver and quarterback. I think we have that with Jimmy. A lot of guys have that with Jimmy. He's the type of quarterback who can understand those intangibles that come with the game that you can't really coach."
Tight end George Kittle said earlier this offseason he was looking forward to catching footballs again from Garoppolo. Kittle spoke a bit on Tuesday about what it has been like having Garoppolo back and one aspect of his quarterback's pre-snap routine which excites him.
"He's still got his swagger," Kittle said of Garoppolo. "Like I said, he's a stallion. He comes to work every day. When he doesn't throw a good ball, it's awkward because I'm just like, 'Hey, you always throw good balls.'
"He looks incredible, and it's just really fun to have him back out there because he still has the best cadence I've ever heard in my life. It gets me excited."
New quarterbacks coach Shane Day has little reason to believe Garoppolo won't be ready by training camp.
"I think, right now, it's all systems go," Day told NBC Sports Bay Area. "I haven't seen any limitations from his play in the situations that we've put him in, which we've been very careful, from Kyle (Shanahan), to me, to the training staff.
"We have all been on the same page as an organization, not putting him in situations where he can put himself in harm. It's always a process, but at this point, right now, I think we all feel good about it, where he's at."
The 49ers wrap up OTAs on Thursday and will hold a three-day mandatory minicamp next week before breaking for about six weeks. The players won't report back to Santa Clara until training camp in late-July.
