All eyes were on Thursday afternoon's practice at the San Francisco 49ers training facility and whether or not starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would throw. He was with his teammates but wasn't in uniform, per multiple reports. That means it will be rookie Trey Lance leading his third consecutive practice.
No Jimmy Garoppolo at the start of today's practice. (He's on hand but not in uniform). It looks like Trey Lance will lead practice for the third time this week.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 30, 2021
"[Garoppolo] is off to the side talking to a team doctor," wrote Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle added, "He then went into [the] weight room."
Garoppolo did not practice on Monday. He tried to throw before Wednesday's practice to see if he could at least participate in a limited capacity. The quarterback could not and left the field before the start of that practice.
Garoppolo is dealing with a somewhat significant thumb injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan initially disclosed the injury as a thumb sprain. Tweets from NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter revealed the injury to be more significant. They stated that Garoppolo suffered an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear and a chipped bone in his right thumb.
"To clear that up, the reason that was worded that way was because that's the way it was worded to me," Shanahan explained on Wednesday. "There's three types of sprains, and he has a Grade 3 sprain, since I've got to give you guys more information to clear up Ian and Adam's tweet[s]. It is a Grade 3 sprain. The reason they never mentioned to me a fracture is because that really didn't have much to do with it.
"The third-degree sprain that he has on his UCL ligament, when that was ripped up, it pulled off a little fleck of his bone. So when there's a bone that has anything off of it, you can call it a fracture, you can call it a chip, you can call it something. But that really isn't what is keeping him out. It's the third-degree sprain that he has. But because it's not moving and stuff, it doesn't need surgery, and he has a chance to play this week."
Of course, the odds of Garoppolo playing this weekend against the Houston Texans get worse with each missed practice. That could mean Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in April, could get his second NFL start, and his first significant action since Week 5.
"If he's the guy that we have to go into battle with this weekend, I am 100 percent confident that he will give us the opportunity to win the game," tackle Trent Williams told NBC Sports Bay Area this week. "... I think he can go and make the plays that can propel a football team to a W. That's the talent he has. That's why he was picked where he was."
Other #49ers practice observations (only from media access, full report afterward):
Participating:
RB Mitchell
RB Sermon
LB Greenlaw
DT JonesNot present:
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) December 30, 2021
QB Garoppolo
DL Hurst
LB Al-Shaair
S Hufanga
