Jimmy Garoppolo struggled to stay on the field last season, missing 10 total games as the San Francisco 49ers struggled to six wins. Trent Williams was among several players to speak to reporters today as the team reported to training camp. The offensive lineman revealed that Garoppolo's situation could have ended up being much worse.
"A lot of people didn't know his ankle was damn near less than an inch away from just snapping," Williams told reporters. "Just watching him even fight through and try to play — a guy who has accomplished so much, got a lot of money, went to a Super Bowl — he didn't have to press forward like he tried to and tried to play hurt. The guys respect that."
Garoppolo suffered his first injury — initially reported as a high-ankle sprain — during Week 2 against the New York Jets. He returned during Week 5 and appeared in four games before being sidelined again.
Garoppolo has looked healthy this offseason and enters training camp as the team's No. 1 quarterback. He will likely hold onto the job if he can stay healthy, even with first-round pick Trey Lance behind him on the depth chart.
"There's no open competition right now in terms of they're getting equal reps with the same group," head coach Kyle Shanahan said via Kirk Larrabee. "Jimmy's coming in as the one, and Trey's coming in as the two."
While Garoppolo is 22-8 in the regular season as the 49ers' starter, he has missed 23 games over the past three seasons, which prompted San Francisco to bolster the quarterback depth and plan for the future with the selection of Lance in the draft.
"When you look at the trend around the league, everyone wants that two-quarterback system or wants to have a quarterback with the potential and the talent and the ceiling that a guy like Trey has. When you can get that, you don't pass up on that. That's not saying that Jimmy isn't improving. It's not saying that Jimmy can't win. I think Jimmy is the quarterback here and will be until we're told otherwise.
"Jimmy's gotten the team to a Super Bowl. He has an outstanding winning percentage when you look at him as a starting quarterback. So, I don't look at it as a quarterback situation. I look at it as when you're up towards that first round, and you don't have any glaring needs, why wouldn't you add one of the best players in the draft if you can do so. I just think it makes the whole team better."