Jimmy Garoppolo laments not being there for 49ers: 'I wish I had a helmet'

It would have been nice had the San Francisco 49ers had Jimmy Garoppolo's services in the NFC Championship game when Brock Purdy went down with an elbow injury. Of course, had Garoppolo been available San Francisco likely would not have found out what it potentially has in the 262nd pick in the 2022 draft, but that's all hypothetical at this point.

The facts are the ground were simple. Purdy was clipped with an elbow injury and then shortly after, his backup, Josh Johnson, had to leave the game with a concussion.

Garoppolo could do nothing but watch in street clothes as the 49ers utilized running back Christian McCaffrey as a wildcat quarterback and ultimately even went back to a severely injured Purdy.

“I wish I had a helmet,” Garoppolo told NBC Sports Bay Area as he left the field after the 49ers' 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He didn't have his helmet but he was tantalizingly close to getting it back, a fact that may haunt 49ers fans for years to come.

Garoppolo broke his foot in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins and was considered out for the season, but he had reportedly been progressing well enough to start thinking about practicing soon — especially had the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl.

He wasn't ready by this past Sunday, though, and that's when the 49ers really could have used him.