The 2018 season was a disaster for the San Francisco 49ers. Hopes were sky-high with the prospect of the first full season with Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan paired together. But the season was derailed by injuries, as starting running back Jerick McKinnon was lost for the year with a torn ACL before it even started, and Garoppolo tore one just a few weeks into the season.
Garoppolo is looking to bounce back in 2019 and is taking measures to ensure he stays healthy. “Hell yeah,” Garoppolo responded when a reporter asked if he would wear a brace on the knee this season, per Cam Inman of NBC Sports.
Garoppolo then went into a little more detail when asked about a timeline for how long he'd wear the brace.
#49ers Jimmy Garoppolo says “hell yeah” he will wear brace on left knee when he returns from ACL reconstruction this year pic.twitter.com/XdjQmnFwzi
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) April 17, 2019
“I think that’s kind of one you play by ear,” Garoppolo said “I wore one initially as a rookie in the NFL and kind of got away from it. I think this year is a certainty. We’ll see how it goes down the road,” he explained.
When asked why he stopped wearing one after his rookie season, Garoppolo said, “It was a number of things.”
“I never played with one before in college or high school or anything like that, so it was different. These new ones they got are titanium, lightweight. It’s like you’re not wearing anything sometimes,” he said excitedly.
If the 49ers are going to push the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West, they'll need Garoppolo under center full-time. San Francisco has been forced to rotate quarterbacks each of the last two seasons, and it hasn't worked out too well.
With Garoppolo back and the addition of splashy offseason acquisitions like Dee Ford, Tevin Coleman, and Kwon Alexander, there's a renewed sense of optimism around the team.
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