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Jimmy Garoppolo Can Return in 7-8 Weeks

Just when you thought he was out, they pull him back in.

Grant Cohn

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Apparently Jimmy Garoppolo's season hasn't ended yet.

The 49ers initially feared Garoppolo would need surgery to repair the broken foot he suffered this past Sunday against Miami, but their fears were wrong and he won't need surgery, so he will be ready to return to the field in seven to eight weeks according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That means Garoppolo will be ready for the divisional round of the playoffs at the earliest and the NFC Championship at the latest.

Of course, the 49ers still will have to reach the postseason and win at least one playoff game without Garoppolo for him to make a comeback. And that means they'll have to keep Brock Purdy healthy, something they were not able to do with Garoppolo or Trey Lance this season.

Let's assume Purdy stays healthy. If the 49ers continue to win games with their great defense but Purdy struggles and they beat teams in spite of him, then of course they'll play Garoppolo as soon as he's ready.

But what if Purdy plays well and the offense experiences no significant drop off with him at quarterback? And what if he wins a playoff game or two? In that case, should the 49ers bench a quarterback who has the hot hand just to play another quarterback who's coming off a serious injury and hasn't played in two months? Garoppolo is a notorious slow starter, plus he has not performed well in the playoffs. He isn't necessarily the 49ers' savior.

And how come Garoppolo can return from his broken foot, but Trey Lance can't return the broken ankle he suffered Week 2?

Lots of questions for the 49ers to answer. Stay tuned. Kyle Shanahan will address the media on Wednesday.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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