It looks like Jimmy Garoppolo is on the road to recovery. The veteran quarterback is on the practice field today with his San Francisco 49ers teammates. However, there is no sign of rookie quarterback Trey Lance as the team kicks off its first practice following its bye.
Jimmy Garoppolo is out on the practice field. No sign, right now, of Trey Lance.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) October 18, 2021
Garoppolo is recovering from a calf injury suffered on October 3. Lance started in Garoppolo's place the following game, on October 10, and sustained a knee sprain.
The 49ers expected Garoppolo to be ready to return this week. Lance's absence shouldn't come as a surprise. The recovery timeline for the younger quarterback was estimated at about one to two weeks, bringing into question his availability for this weekend's matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at Levi's Stadium.
Jimmy Garoppolo looks unhindered in his return from calf injury that kept him out past 1 1/2 games before bye. Looks on target to start SNF when #49ers host #Colts.
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) October 18, 2021
Trey Lance (knee sprain) not practicing so Nate Sudfeld could be QB2 for 2 games in row pic.twitter.com/hReR08pmPe
San Francisco will hold three more practices this week, with the next one scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The Niners own a 2-3 record after losing three consecutive games, sit in third place within the NFC West, and need to start winning again to climb back into the playoff picture.