The San Francisco 49ers' season ended in unfortunate fashion last season, as quarterback Brock Purdy tore his UCL in the first quarter of the team's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles before backup Josh Johnson was ruled out to a concussion, leaving the organization without a signal-caller in the most important game of the year.
As a result, the 49ers were left without a chance, as the Eagles easily advanced to the Super Bowl, where they eventually lost to the Chiefs in a 38-35 battle.
Of course, without Purdy, it seemed that the 49ers wouldn't have had a single chance to beat the Chiefs, but a recent detail was revealed this weekend that could've altered the team's season.
In an exclusive interview with the San Francisco Chronicle's Mike Silver, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, formerly of the 49ers and now with the Las Vegas Raiders, revealed that he would've played had the team reached the Super Bowl, despite having suffered a broken foot in Week 13 that cost him the rest of the year.
"Oh yeah, I was playing," Garoppolo said. "That was kind of the plan of not getting the surgery [after suffering the injury]."
However, that situation never materialized, as the 49ers were blown out, and Garoppolo eventually had surgery on his foot, which placed his agreement with the Raiders in jeopardy, although a passed physical before training camp nullified that issue.
In the interview, Garoppolo acknowledged that he may have pushed himself too hard in trying to recover in time last season, hoping to play before the end of the year.
"It was wild," Garoppolo said. "I was doing my thing, trying to get my foot ready. That didn't work out how I wished it would have. But those guys, going through three quarterbacks and still making it to the NFC Championship Game, that's damn impressive for a team.
"It was my choosing," Garoppolo said. "I wanted to do that because I knew if something like that championship game did happen, I wanted to be out there. Whatever. It's all in the past now. Things worked out the way they did, and I'm happy with how it all worked out."
While the information is only coming out months later, it's an interesting statement for Garoppolo, who seemed to have pushed himself too hard but still would've been ready two weeks later to play.
But, as Garoppolo said, it's all in the past now, as both sides have gone their separate ways and are now looking ahead to the 2023 season, which coincidentally starts in a bout against each other on Sunday.
- Rohan Chakravarthi
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Written by:Writer/Reporter for 49ers Webzone
