SANTA CLARA — Jimmy Garoppolo went down fighting Sunday, and as he tried to limit the lost yardage on a third-down sack, his left foot was fractured in the process.
That put a sudden halt to his season, not to mention the best four-game stretch of Garoppolo’s career, which has been interrupted by multiple injuries since he made his first 49ers start exactly five years and one day earlier.
“It just stinks because I really felt him coming on even more so this year,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “He’s always been a great leader but I felt him really, really caring about this team and his part, and obviously his big role as quarterback.
“I saw him at halftime and it was pretty emotional.”
Garoppolo’s exit thrust rookie Brock Purdy into his first meaningful action, and Purdy responded with two touchdown passes in an eventual 33-17 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Where Garoppolo goes from here is, well, surgery.
“He broke a few things in there,” Shanahan said.
Where Garoppolo plays next is, well, an even more unnerving plight than this past year, when his March 8 shoulder surgery scuttled his trade market and led him to remain with the 49ers’ on a reduced-salary contract that expires at season’s end.
The 49ers, who improved to an NFC West-best record of 8-4, ruled out Garoppolo with 8 1/2 minutes remaining in Sunday’s first half. That’s about when Shanahan learned, too, and that Garoppolo left the stadium during the third quarter.
Only 2 1/2 months ago, Garoppolo was summoned off the sideline to replace Lance, who sustained an ankle fracture against the Seattle Seahawks in the home opener, also in the first quarter, also on Levi’s Stadium’s north side of the field.
Shanahan was clear postgame that activating Lance from injured reserve is not an option, so the 49ers are in Purdy’s hands now. The Niners are expected to sign veteran Josh Johnson off the Broncos’ practice squad for his fourth stint with the team, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Some two weeks ago, the 49ers cut Kurt Benkert from their practice squad — he remains a free agent — and replaced him with Jacob Eason, who was a 2020 fourth-round draft pick by the Colts. Eason, 24, also had stints with the 2021 Seahawks and this season’s Panthers.
Down 7-0, Garoppolo was hurt on the 49ers’ opening drive not far from Lance’s final play. Garoppolo’s left foot was hit and pinned to the ground by the knee of Jaelen Phillips, who was tackling Garoppolo along with Jerome Baker for a 10-yard loss at the Dolphins’ 25-yard line.
After that opening-series sack, Garoppolo hobbled to the 49ers’ sideline and eventually required a cart ride to the 49ers’ locker room. An X-ray revealed multiple fractures.
“It’s brutal,” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “I haven’t been around a long time here but I can’t say enough good things about him. I’ve been in that position, where you’re playing, you’re excited and it all ends for the year. It hurts.”
McCaffrey said he had no idea how much Garoppolo was hurting when he helped him up after the sack that caused his injury. “To jog off the field says a lot about him, his character, his toughness,” McCaffrey added.
Robbie Gould kicked a 47-yard field goal the play after Garoppolo was sacked, pulling the 49ers within 7-3 of the Dolphins, who scored on the game’s opening snap with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to ex-49er Trent Sherfield. Garoppolo was 2-for-4 passing for 56 yards before his latest injury.
Purdy replaced Garoppolo on the ensuing series and the 49ers responded with a go-ahead 54-yard touchdown drive. Purdy’s first career touchdown pass, a first-and-goal throw from the 1-yard line to Kyle Juszczyk, put them ahead 10-7.
“I couldn’t get it off my mind, so I just kind of had to force myself to block it out and keep going,” said Bosa, who eventually delivered his third sack of the game and forced a fumble on it that Dre Greenlaw returned for a late-game touchdown. “Our defense, obviously, did a pretty damn good job.”
Last Sunday, Garoppolo suffered an injury scare when he was hit in his surgically repaired left knee and was sore the following days after that 13-0 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Garoppolo played through thumb and shoulder injuries in last season’s run to the NFC Championship Game. He missed one game with a calf injury, then a December win over Houston because of his thumb injury.
A pair of high sprains to Garoppolo’s right ankle limited him to six games in 2020, and his medical history prompted the 49ers to select Trey Lance No. 3 overall in the 2021 draft as Garoppolo’s expected successor. Lance opened this season as the starter but sustained that fractured ankle in the Week 2 home opener.
“It’s a very tough sport and it’s what these guys commit to coming out of college,” Shanahan said. “… When it’s the quarterback of your team, it affects it more, affects guys more, but you look at it as the way we’re built to win.
“Jimmy is a hell of a player. We’re fortunate to have him here. But we need everybody. Today we needed a good defense, a good running game.”
McCaffrey keyed the 49ers’ production in the wake of Garoppolo’s injury. Despite a knee issue last game, McCaffrey had four carries for 19 yards and had a 7-yard reception on Purdy’s first drive. He also caught Purdy’s second touchdown pass, a 3-yard throw with 4 seconds left before halftime, which capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive in 2 minutes and 44 seconds.
The running back finished with 66 yards rushing on 17 carries, plus eight catches for 80 yards including that touchdown.
Purdy, “Mr. Irrelevant” from the 2022 draft as the final player selected, entered this game with just 18 snaps under his belt. He completed 25-of-37 passes Sunday for two touchdowns and an interception.
“My heart feels for him, man. He’s a brother of mine,” Purdy said. “It’s just like the situation with Trey when he went down. It sucks seeing your guys go down like that but you gotta roll and you gotta find ways to win.”
Added Shanahan: “Brock came in and made some big plays. He’s got some (guts) out there. … So we were having to change a lot of stuff on the fly, putting a lot of pressure on him in that way and I thought he did a hell of a job doing it.”
Garoppolo gone to locker room after TBA leg injury pic.twitter.com/M0GxXhgRmu
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) December 4, 2022
