The San Francisco 49ers hoped quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would be able to take part in today's practice and test whether his right leg was strong enough to play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Garoppolo didn't, and he has now missed an entire week's worth of practice.
After practice, head coach Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers are ruling Garoppolo "out" for the Week 5 matchup and that rookie Trey Lance would start in the veteran's place. With Garoppolo sidelined, Lance has received the majority of the practice reps this week.
"The more reps you get, the better you're going to get," general manager John Lynch said this morning on KNBR. "He does things exceptionally well. I think he's taken to our offense well. With every rep, he's going to get better."
Garoppolo suffered a calf injury during the 49ers' first offensive drive in the Week 4 game against the Seattle Seahawks. He played through the injury, which got worse throughout the first half. At halftime, Garoppolo knew he wouldn't be able to return to the field.
Lance started the second half, completing 9-of-18 pass attempts for 157 yards with two touchdowns. While he looked like a rookie at the start, the 21-year-old quarterback seemed to get more comfortable as the game continued.
"He progresses quickly out there. He sees things well," Lynch said. "Having said that, there's a lot of things he hasn't seen of yet. The great thing there is he's got incredible feet and can move around and make some things happen. When you have those two things, that gives you an opportunity to have success. I thought he used that. He found a rhythm. I thought he got better throughout the game."
San Francisco traded up to select Lance with the No. 3 overall draft pick in April. He completed his only other pass of the season, a Week 1 touchdown against the Detroit Lions, and has rushed for 44 yards on 11 carries. Lance has been responsible for four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) this season.
