A lot of the San Francisco 49ers' 2019 season is resting on the arm (and left leg) of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He is now over eight months removed from the season-ending ACL injury he suffered during a Week 3 contest in Kansas City last year.
Garoppolo's recovery has been one of the biggest offseason stories for the 49ers, if not the biggest. The quarterback has taken part in the past three weeks of organized team activities, which conclude today, and has gotten work during everything except 11-on-11 team drills.
That is likely to change in late-July. The 49ers expect Garoppolo to be fully cleared to practice during training camp as he and his teammates prepare for the regular season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was part of the team's State of the Franchise event on Wednesday night and provided an update on his franchise quarterback.
"Jimmy is coming along just fine," Shanahan said. "We all know he had his ACL (injury) last year. We'd have him in everything right now. The doctors won't quite clear him yet, and we'll listen to the doctors. But he's had 160 reps in 7-on-7 (drills), so he's getting plenty of reps.
"We've got three more practices with him. I know he can't wait until he can get under center where we've got some pass rushers and things like that but Jimmy's good to go. We've just got to clear one more month so the doctors can make it totally safe, and then we're ready to play."
One teammate who is looking forward to Garoppolo's return is Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle, who set an NFL single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end last year while catching passes from three different quarterbacks.
"We started off really well last year," Kittle said on Wednesday night. "Unfortunate things happened. This offseason being back, Jimmy just hit the ground running, and really hasn't missed a beat.
"The offense, it's smooth, and we're just happy to have him back at the helm."
