Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending foot injury means Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy is the 49ers’ starter

In a highly-anticipated meeting between the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins, Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers emerged victorious over his former assistant Mike McDaniel, and the Dolphins.

But the win was a costly one for San Francisco.

Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked to end San Francisco’s opening drive of the game, and was in obvious pain as he came off the field to be evaluated by trainers. He was then left field on a cart and was taken to the locker room for further evaluation.

Following the victory, Shanahan addressed the media, and confirmed to reporters that the quarterback had suffered a broken foot.

The injury will require surgery, and Shanahan indicated that it is a season-ending injury:

Having lost Trey Lance earlier in the season to a fractured fibula, the 49ers turned to another young quarterback, rookie Brock Purdy, to close out the game against Miami.

Purdy, who was Mr. Irrelevant in last spring’s draft, performed rather well as the 49ers topped the Dolphins by a final score of 33-17. Purdy completed 25 of 37 passes for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns, along with an interception.

His first touchdown came on his first drive of the game, as he connected with fullback Kyle Juszczyk on a short throw into the right flat for a three-yard touchdown:

In addition to the play being his first NFL touchdown pass, the throw made a little history, as Purdy became the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass. This is not the first time Purdy made league history this season. Earlier this year he became the first Mr. Irrelevant to complete a pass in the NFL.

Purdy’s second touchdown pass of the game came just before halftime, as he linked up with Christian McCaffrey to give the 49ers a 17-10 lead at the break:

But perhaps his best throw of the game came a few plays prior to the McCaffrey touchdown. With the 49ers facing a 3rd and 10 at their own 35-yard line, Purdy managed to connect with George Kittle over the middle to move the chains, despite pass rusher Jaelan Phillips bearing down on him in the pocket:

San Francisco will now put their talented offense in Purdy’s hands for the rest of the season. The team does have Jacob Eason on the practice squad, and will likely add additional depth at the position.

(Sunday night, the team signed veteran quarterback Josh Johnson off the Denver Broncos’ practice squad).

Could Lance make a return? Back in November Shanahan addressed that question, and indicated that barring something “drastic,” the plan was for Lance to return for 2023:

“I haven’t been told there’s a chance, so I think things would have to be pretty drastic,” Shanahan told reporters. “We weren’t expecting that much from the beginning. I think he’s right on schedule with everything, but I’ve not been told there’s a chance.”

Whether Garoppolo’s injury qualifies as something “drastic” remains to be seen.

Speaking of 2023, Garoppolo’s injury came just hours after reporting surfaced that the 49ers and the quarterback were both open to Garoppolo returning to San Francisco for the 2023 season. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, “both sides are open to him being back for the 2023 season.”