San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan plans to have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo play during Monday night's preseason game against the Denver Broncos. How much he will play has not yet been determined. Several factors will go into deciding the quarterback's snap count.
One of the factors is a review of the practice film from the last two days of joint practices between the 49ers and Broncos, said Shanahan. Another is the health of the 49ers offensive line, which lost another starter during Friday's practice.
Right guard Mike Person left the field with what initially looked like a serious injury. The 49ers reported on Saturday morning that Person sustained a foot sprain and is day-to-day, which is a big relief for the offensive line.
"Person made it through practice, had a little bit of a scare after," Shanahan said after Saturday's practice, "but with the x-rays and stuff, going well and he's day-to-day. So, scary at first, but day-to-day. It's a good sign."
The offensive line is already without starting center Weston Richburg, who remains on the Active/Physically Unable to Participate list, and reserve tackle Shon Coleman, who is out for the season. Backup guard Joshua Garnett, who underwent surgery to repair a dislocated finger, will be eased back into practice next week, said general manager John Lynch, but will do so with a cast over the injured hand.
"I haven't decided how much we're going to play [Garoppolo] on Monday night," Shanahan told reporters. "I want to play him. A lot has to do with when we watch his film from these two practices, how long we do play all our starters, what O-linemen are available and things like that. But I'd like him to get in there for a little bit; not as much as Week 3.
"Anytime you go against a different defense, it gets very monotonous in camp going against the same coverages every day, some different fronts, different looks, different techniques, so it was a good day. We get more out of these two practices than we will in the game."
Shanahan was also asked about the way Garoppolo responds to a play breaking down, which often leads to the quarterback trying to make something out of it, possibly leading to turnovers.
"I love people that makes plays, but interceptions lose games," Shanahan responded. "So, you can't keep both teams in the game. You've got to make plays for your own team. You can't make them for both teams. If you keep both teams in the game, you're going to have to be a lot more conservative to make sure you're not put in those situations."
Shanahan added, "I think guys who have very talented arms think they can make every throw. Sometimes, you've got to learn that, I know you can make it, but the percentages go way down; progress to the next guy. If there's two guys on this guy, I know you can get it in there, you're that talented, but it's a lot easier if you can just move to the next guy.
"I think it can be a compliment, but also it can be a detriment to him, too. You see that with a lot of big-arm quarterbacks who have talent, and that's what practice is for."
Shanahan noted that Wednesday's five-interception practice for Garoppolo might have been a benefit.
"I'm actually kind of glad that happened," he said, "because sometimes you get close to that and you get fortunate on a few things instead of unlucky on a few things. But, you learn from it. It wakes guys up and makes it easier to coach them, and it makes them correct their mistakes."
Garoppolo rebounded and had a pretty good next practice on Friday against the Broncos, completing his first eight pass attempts during team drills and throwing four fewer interceptions than Wednesday's outing. Garoppolo had no passes intercepted during Saturday's practice.