Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers are preparing for their Week 3 contest against the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a high-ankle sprain during this past weekend's matchup against the New York Jets. He didn't practice this week and has been ruled out for Sunday. Nick Mullens will
start in his place.
Tight end
George Kittle had been ramping up his practice time this week after sustaining an MCL sprain and bone bruise during Week 1. Head coach Kyle Shanahan announced on Friday, however, that he has been ruled out for Sunday.
Shanahan spoke with Kittle before Friday's practice to determine where he is in his recovery.
"I thought it was a lot safer to leave him out," Shanahan explained to reporters. "That didn't need to wait another day because of how he sounds today."
The 49ers will be without their top two running backs in Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Both have been ruled out, which means increased roles for Jerick McKinnon and
Jeff Wilson, Jr.
JaMycal Hasty will be promoted from the practice squad to help the group, Shanahan said on Friday morning.
Also ruled out are linebacker
Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps) and defensive end
Dee Ford, who is dealing with a back injury.
"That thing has to quiet down, and when it does, we can build [Ford] back up and get him ready to play," general manager
John Lynch said on Thursday. "I've talked to Dee. Dee's eager to do that. We've just got to kind of get through this. It's a little flared up right now, and it's got to quiet down before we start getting him ready to come back to play."
Shanahan on Greenlaw: "We were hoping he could get up this week. He ended up being hurt a little bit worse than we expected."
Below are the official injury reports for the 49ers and Giants, which were provided by the 49ers Communications staff. Also included are Friday's practice participation reports.
San Francisco 49ers
Out
RB Tevin Coleman (knee), DE Dee Ford (back), QB Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle), LB Dre Greenlaw (quadricep), TE George Kittle (knee), RB Raheem Mostert (knee)
Questionable
CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring)
New York Giants
Doubtful
S Adrian Colbert (quadricep)
Questionable
CB Brandon Williams (groin)
San Francisco 49ers Friday Practice
Did Not Participate In Practice
RB Tevin Coleman (knee), DE Dee Ford (back), QB Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle), LB Dre Greenlaw (quadricep), RB Raheem Mostert (knee)
Limited Participation in Practice
TE George Kittle (knee), CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring)
Full Participation in Practice
CB
Jason Verrett (hamstring)
New York Giants Friday Practice
Limited Participation in Practice
S Adrian Colbert (quadricep), CB Brandon Williams (groin)
Full Participation in Practice
LB Carter Coughlin (hamstring)
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch told KNBR this past Monday that the organization appeared close to trading starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo earlier in the offseason, but those talks came to a screeching halt when the decision was made for the 30-year old signal-caller to have surgery on his injured shoulder.
Lynch later mentioned that the team continued to have dialogue surrounding Garoppolo during the NFL Draft, but it appeared teams were hoping to secure his services at a discounted price. Lynch also mentioned that teams typically don't rush out to trade for a player following surgery until they know they've made a full recovery. To me, it almost felt like
We know Jimmy Garoppolo isn't going anywhere until he fully recovers from his offseason shoulder surgery. Most have accepted that. The San Francisco 49ers aren't releasing him. By not trading him by the end of the draft, the 49ers showed they are willing to wait out the situation and see if a trade partner emerges after late June or early July, when the team expects the quarterback to start throwing again.
Nick Wagoner of ESPN recently stated that once Garoppolo recovers, the 49ers will again get on the phones and try to generate interest in the 30-year-old quarterback. Of course, that's not
Jimmy Garoppolo has remained on the San Francisco 49ers roster far longer than anyone expected or predicted. The Niners have tried to trade the veteran, clearing the way for second-year quarterback Trey Lance. However, offseason shoulder surgery halted trade discussions, and the 49ers, for now, appear stuck with Garoppolo and his hefty salary.
The 49ers have maintained that they are comfortable holding onto Garoppolo if they cannot strike a deal to their liking. Everyone realizes, though, that Plan A is to trade the quarterback for something worthwhile rather than letting him fulfill his contract on the team and leave as a free agent in 2023. Releasing Garoppolo would also net them nothing, aside from salary cap space.
Holding onto Garoppolo might happen. Most of
Former NFL offensive lineman turned sports broadcaster and analyst Ross Tucker doesn't "believe for a second" that the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks will enter Week 1 of the 2022 season with one of their current quarterbacks as the starter. Instead, he feels both teams will make a move to prevent that from happening.
I don't believe for a second that the Panthers & Seahawks are going into Week 1 with their current QBs on the roster.— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) May 16,