San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a torn ACL during a September 23 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers had already lost their featured running back, Jerick McKinnon, three weeks earlier — a week before his regular-season debut with San Francisco.
Garoppolo and McKinnon were on the sidelines for some late-season games in 2018, a sign that their recoveries are on track.
General manager John Lynch provided an update on each player's health during an interview on SiriusXM Radio, and the news was positive. He, along with head coach Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers staff, is in Mobile, Alabama for Saturday's Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. San Francisco's staff is coaching the South squad while Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders staff coach the North squad.
"One of the best sights, the other day, I looked outside my office and [Garoppolo was] out there throwing and he was throwing to Jerick McKinnon," Lynch said on-air. "There's nothing good about having two of your best players go down with ACLs. The positive spin, though, is that Jimmy has had someone to go through this with, with Jerick McKinnon, who was about six weeks ahead of him when he tore his ACL."
The GM of the #49ers, @JohnLynch49ers updated us on the health and recovery of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jerick McKinnon... pic.twitter.com/mh3CH4SM19
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) January 22, 2019
That is good news for a team that will be relying heavily on Garoppolo and McKinnon in 2019. The 49ers' season was never able to get back on track after their franchise quarterback's injury. He was replaced by second-year quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens for the remainder of the season.
Matt Breida tried to carry the load in McKinnon's absence but dealt with injuries himself throughout the season.