Jimmy Garoppolo has followed a Super Bowl appearance with an injury-plagued season. Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo out indefinitely with ankle sprain

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Nov 2, 2020 4:05 PM ET

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday afternoon that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is out indefinitely due to the high ankle sprain that he first suffered in the Week 2 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

Garoppolo originally missed two games and was initially replaced by Nick Mullens, who filled in for Garoppolo in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks. It's possible Garoppolo could undergo season-ending surgery to repair the injury.

Garoppolo attempted to play through discomfort after he tweaked the ankle during the Seattle game. He completed 11-of-16 passes for 84 yards with an interception before he went to the locker room.

Mullens is in his third season and has completed 70.4% of his passes this season for 852 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Additionally, All-Pro tight end George Kittle is expected to miss up to eight weeks with a broken bone in his foot.

As ESPN's Bill Barnwell explained, the 49ers might have millions of reasons to part ways with the signal-caller affectionately known as "Jimmy G" after the season:

Garoppolo has an unguaranteed $24.1 million base salary and a $26.8 million cap hit next year. The 49ers might love Garoppolo, but can they afford to go into 2021 paying that much for a guy who has that sort of injury history as a starter? https://t.co/NCWa8BuRZf
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 2, 2020

The New England Patriots traded Garoppolo to the 49ers in the fall of 2017, and he signed a five-year contract that could've been worth $137.5 million the subsequent offseason. While the 28-year-old helped San Francisco make it to the Super Bowl last February, he's largely failed to match the value of that deal with his play. He's also experienced multiple injury setbacks, and the latest could result in the end of his tenure with the 49ers.

San Francisco fell to 4-4 with the loss to Seattle.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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