Jimmy Garoppolo spent the latter part of the 2021 season downplaying his injuries, particularly to his thumb. After the San Francisco 49ers were eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game, he finally shed some light on what he had been dealing with.
Garoppolo played with a torn ligament in his right thumb, and also suffered a shoulder sprain in the Wild Card round against Dallas. The 49ers quarterback maintained that his arm felt great in public comments throughout the playoffs, but that was far from the truth.
“Now I can say the truth,” Garoppolo told Michael Silver of Bally Sports after Sunday’s game.. “Every play, I feel it. But we made it through.
“I can’t believe this s— held up, to be completely honest with you. The thumb, the shoulder … all of it. It was one thing after another. … Every time I threw. It was a lot.”
Garoppolo injured the thumb prior to Week 17. While there were initial fears he would miss time, he wound up playing through it to the end of the season. The 49ers won both of their final two regular season games as well as two playoff games while Garoppolo was nursing the injury.
Credit to Garoppolo, who was criticized for his play but never made excuses or blamed the injury. This had already been a difficult season for him, and the late-season injuries only made it worse. He almost led the 49ers to the Super Bowl anyway, even though his play could be inconsistent at times.
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