49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo may not start vs Packers, per report

According to Fox Sports 1’s Jason McIntyre, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury may be a bigger cause for concern than most realize. McIntyre tweeted that Garoppolo’s hand and shoulder injuries are “Not good. Like may not start good.”

As he noted, the betting line for the game has been inching towards Green Bay since it opened up as a 5.5-point line. It quickly dropped to the Packers only being favored by five points, but has since steadily risen to a six-point line at the moment of this article publishing.

After the 49ers’ win against the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said, “[Garoppolo] had to play through some pain and stuff, but he ended up checking out all right. Just a slight shoulder sprain and he should be good for [Tuesday’s] practice.” This wouldn’t be the first time that Shanahan downplayed an injury for Garoppolo, telling the media that he’ll return to the field soon, just for Garoppolo to miss out on playing time. This has been a reoccurring theme for the last two seasons in San Francisco.

The 49ers’ backup quarterback is Trey Lance, the first-round pick that San Francisco traded a bundle of picks for this past offseason. Lance has started two games as an injury replacement for Garoppolo this season, losing to the Cardinals and beating the Texans. In his two starts, Lance has completed 31 of 52 passes for 441 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while taking three sacks. He also rushed 24 times for 120 yards over those games.

While his running ability will scare some Packers fans, asking a rookie quarterback to win his first road game in his NFL career in Lambeau Field against the top seed in the NFC in terrible weather would be a tough task.