© Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
49ers fans won’t watch Jimmy Garoppolo play for another nine months, but they can prepare by drawing comparisons to current quarterbacks who suffered similar knee injuries. Garoppolo tore his ACL in Week 3 when his knee buckled as he scrambled to the sideline.
Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson — also young, promising franchise quarterbacks — returned to the field after suffering similar injuries last year. Wentz has thrown for 2,304 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions in eight games, while the Eagles have limped to a 4-6 record. Watson, meanwhile, has thrown for 2,597 yards, 18 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, while leading the Texans to seven straight wins and a division-leading 7-3 record.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport joined KNBR’s Murph & Mac Monday morning and compared Garoppolo’s injury to those aforementioned quarterbacks.
“Jimmy did not have any other, he had a little bit of stuff in his knee, but not anywhere close to what Wentz had,” Rapoport said. “It was a much cleaner surgery, much cleaner injury than Wentz. Remember, Wentz tore the LCL, too, which delayed his recovery about four-to-six weeks. For Jimmy, it’s not like that. That’s one good thing. The other thing is it happened much earlier.”
Wentz’s MVP-caliber season halted when he suffered his injury in Week 14 against the Rams last year. He did not return to the field until Week 3 of the current season.
Watson, conversely, tore his ACL during a practice in early November. He returned fully healthy by Week 1 of 2018.
“I would say, probably a closer (comparison) would be Deshaun Watson, who was injured kind of early in the season in practice,” Rapoport said. “It was a clean tear. (He) had like two or three games to get acclimated (this season) and has been really good since.”
Listen to the Murph & Mac podcast below. To hear Rapoport talk Garoppolo, skip to 8:00.