Jimmy Garoppolo: Injury conspiracies abound for 49ers quarterback
By Peter Panacy
Jimmy Garoppolo Conspiracy No. 2: Kyle Shanahan is stubbornly defending his QB
This conspiracy theory is less subtle but a lot more plausible, and there might be some rationale to it.
True, Kyle Shanahan has thrown all kinds of signs he wants to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo, namely with San Francisco being linked to oh-so-many quarterback rumors last offseason and certainly highlighted by the aggressive trade-up for Trey Lance last spring. Rumors were one thing, yet trading away two future first-round draft picks, as well as a Round 3 selection, to move up for Lance should be all anyone needs to know regarding Shanahan’s true feelings about Garoppolo.
That said, Shanahan has also repeatedly stated Garoppolo gives the 49ers their best chance of winning right now, likely including whatever push needed to get into the postseason.
Related Story: Jimmy Garoppolo gaffes vs. Titans reveal why 49ers drafted Trey Lance
Maybe Shanahan didn’t fully know the extent of Garoppolo’s hand injury at the time, either during Thursday’s game or on the Monday press conference (not likely), but it’s also possible Shanahan wanted to downplay the injury as to not raise suspicions about Garoppolo’s health.
One of the root causes why Shanahan wanted to move on from Garoppolo in the first place and an argument that has largely died down, at least for a while, ever since Lance got his only start this season (Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals) when Jimmy G was out with a calf injury.
Downplaying the injury does make a lot of sense, although the rationale behind it doesn’t necessarily.