"What they know is that it was kind of on the mild spectrum of a high-ankle, the first one he had, and that he only had one of the ligaments involved," general manager John Lynch explained this week. "Now, he's reinjured that one ligament to a higher extent and then also got one of the other ones."
Surgery could be an option. That is something that Garoppolo and the 49ers are speaking with doctors about. If Garoppolo and the 49ers go down that route, it would mean the end of the quarterback's season. Some feel it may mean the end of his time with San Francisco, speculating Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan might be willing to move on from Garoppolo, depending on the available alternatives.
As it stands right now, without surgery, the thought is that Garoppolo could miss six weeks. That would make a Week 15 return a possibility. However, Adam Schefter of ESPN doesn't believe that necessarily means Garoppolo would play again this season.
"[The 49ers will] probably know their fate (by Week 15)," Schefter explained on Thursday morning on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "… So, let's just say they're 3-3 from this point on, and they're 7-7 (by then). Is Jimmy Garoppolo coming back in Week 15 at 7-7? Maybe. Maybe. I'd be surprised.
"More likely, they're 2-4 (over the next six games). And at that point, you're 6-8, and you're not making the playoffs.
"But let's put it this way: If they were in a playoff race, that means the quarterback is playing well. So either the quarterback that is playing well for them has them in the race, and you're not taking them out, or the quarterback who's in there and not winning games has knocked them out of the playoff race. You're not going to put him in when you're not competing for something.
"So, either way, it doesn't add up to him being back."
As far as Garoppolo's future with the 49ers, Schefter doesn't want to assume the quarterback won't be back in 2021 but admits that Lynch, Shanahan, and company are always looking for ways to improve their roster.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Schefter below.
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