49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo to have thumb surgery

There was plenty of speculation surrounding 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo throughout the season. While it is still widely believed he has played his last game in San Francisco, the first order of business for him is to undergo surgery on his injured thumb, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). 

Rapoport says the surgery is expected to take place “as soon as it can be scheduled.” Garoppolo was able to play through the ailment for the latter part of the season and into the playoffs but not without feeling pain in his throwing hand after every pass attempt. While the injury was originally thought to be a sprain, it was revealed in December that he suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb.

The 30-year-old missed two games in 2021 – adding to his already notable total of absences, though certainly not to the same extent as previous years. He totaled 3,810 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His completion percentage (68.3%) and yards per attempt (8.6) were both right on par with his carer averages. Between that and the Niners’ run to the NFC title game, Garoppolo made the most out of what could have been a disastrous "lame-duck" campaign.

There will be quite the market for Garoppolo in the event that, as expected, San Francisco decides to move on from him. A number of teams already have QB vacancies, not to mention those like the Raiders and Vikings, whose signal callers find themselves in the same position as Garoppolo in that they have one year remaining on their contracts. A trade would, of course, represent the team handing the reins over to 2021 No. 3 pick Trey Lance, something the Niners seemed destined to do considering the draft capital given up to acquire him.