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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was proud of how his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, performed on Sunday against the New York Jets before being forced to miss the second half due to a high-ankle sprain. The injury, however, occurred well before halftime. The quarterback played on his injured ankle for much of the first half before being forced to sit out the remainder of the game.
Garoppolo endured much criticism following his lackluster Week 1 performance in a loss against the Arizona Cardinals. He finished Sunday's game having completed 87.5 percent of his passes for 131 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 140.4.
If that's how Garoppolo performs while playing with an injury, Shanahan joked that maybe the 49ers should change their pregame strategy.
"I told him we can hit him with a bat on the way out before we start, if he wants, if that will help him," Shanahan told reporters on Monday. "He kind of laughed at it. Jimmy's a physical guy, and for lots of guys, it kind of gets them going in the game and gets you more alert.
"Jimmy plays with a lot of grit. For him to hurt his ankle like he did -- the next series in, we had a third-down where people weren't open on ... for him to scramble right when he could barely move, make that throw to (Brandon) Aiyuk to move the chains that led to a 14-play drive, he really gutted it out.
"He's as tough of a guy as I've been around."
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As for the injury itself, Shanahan feels that the play should have drawn multiple penalties. It didn't, however, because the referee never blew his whistle to end the play. So Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams played through and reached the quarterback.
"They hit him right in the calf or the Achilles, so that was low," Shanahan said. "They didn't call that. Then, they couldn't blow the whistle because [referee Ronald Torbert's] mask was on, and he couldn't get the mask off in time.
"So while Jimmy's laying there, and they can't blow the whistle because the mask was on, a guy came and hit him again. So I thought there should've been two penalties on that play."
Shanahan hasn't
yet ruled Garoppolo out of the 49ers' Week 3 contest against the New York Giants because the injury was not as severe as the team initially thought. Although, fans will likely see Nick Mullens again and not Garoppolo, depending on how the latter feels this week.
"If he's good to go, and the doctors say he's healthy, and he can go out there and protect himself, and if Jimmy feels confident in doing it, and gives us the best chance to win, in that case, Jimmy will be out there," Shanahan said. "If Jimmy's not safe and he can't protect himself, then we'll go with Nick."
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
