Jimmy Garoppolo‘s 2018 campaign ended prematurely when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3, but the 49ers quarterback expects to be fully ready for training camp, according to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.
“I really do,” Garoppolo said when asked if he thinks he’ll be available for camp. “The rehab process has gone really well. Knock on wood. We haven’t had any setbacks. OTAs went about as well as I could have hoped for and now for training camp hopefully we’ll be full go with team drills and all that stuff. We’re moving in the right direction. We’ve just got to keep going day by day and keep stacking them together. It’s a long process, but we’ve come this far, so why stop now, right?”
Perhaps more importantly, Garoppolo doesn’t expect to begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Not only does that mean the 27-year-old shouldn’t have any physical limitations as he begins practice sessions, but he also won’t be eligible to be placed on the reserve/PUP list, which would have forced him to miss the first six games of the regular season. Given that he threw passes during organized team activities, Garoppolo never seemed like a realistic candidate for the PUP list.
Garoppolo posted an undefeated record in five starts after the 49ers acquired him from the Patriots in 2017. In 2018, he started three games, completing 59.6% of his passers for 718 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and a dismal 26.9 Total Quarterback Rating.
I hope he’s ready and plays the full season. Then we can witness the brilliance of paying a guy over $100m w/ 7 starts under his belt!
He’s actually 8-2 as a starter. If he stays healthy I can see him making a run at comeback player of the year.