No Trent Williams for the second day in a row
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Injury report: Garoppolo throws for the third day in a row; Mitchell returns to practice
For the third day in a row, 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo threw at practice. Every beat writer on-hand tweeted videos of Garoppolo throwing on air and down the field upwards to 40 yards.
The takeaway isn’t how much velocity Jimmy is putting on his throws. It’s that he’s throwing the ball, period. Drew Brees had a similar injury where he tore his UCL and missed five weeks. Today is Day 14 since Garoppolo suffered an injury against the Titans. But, according to some of the reporters on hand, you couldn’t tell Garoppolo was injured.
It’s telling that Garoppolo has progressed this much in a short time. But, of course, the throws happening are on air and without the threat of a defense. Only Jimmy and the coaches will know if he truly could perform during practice.
If it’s not about pain, and Jimmy’s thumb injury is more of a functional issue, then based on him throwing three days in a row, Garoppolo starts Sunday.
I have plenty of questions. At the top of the list is how is Jimmy throwing so soon based on the information we’ve been given? Someone isn’t telling the truth about the severity of Jimmy’s injury. The handling and discussion around it have been bizarre. But you can say that for just about everything else 49ers-related this season, so it’s par for the course.
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel wouldn’t say whether or not Garoppolo or Lance had been splitting reps during Thursday’s practice. McDaniel’s most notable quote was, “We trust that if he is able to go, he is able to hold up his end of the bargain.”
Garoppolo being limited in practice is a tell that Lance received a share of the first-team reps. We’ll never know what the actual split was.
Trent Williams was not on hand at practice with a sprained elbow. However, Shanahan said Wednesday that he’s confident Williams would play Sunday. Also, Williams wasn’t listed on Wednesday's injury report, which indicates he’s not hurt.
Azeez Al-Shaair was the only other player who the beat reporters didn’t see at practice.
After sitting out of practice Wednesday, Elijah Mitchell was working with the trainers on the side of the field. He’s one of the bigger injury pieces we’ll discuss this week. When he plays, the 49ers are better on offense.
Mo Hurst, Dre Greenlaw, Jaquiski Tartt, Trey Sermon, Mohamed Sanu, and Emmanuel Moseley all practiced Thursday. With four members of the secondary currently on the Reserve/COVID list, Moseley’s return to the lineup couldn’t have come at a better time.
Here’s a look at the full injury report.
Did not participate:
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee)
T Trent Williams (elbow)
Limited:
QB Jimmy Garoppolo (right thumb)
LB Dre Greenlaw (groin)
LB Marcell Harris (Achilles)
S Talanoa Hufanga (knee)
DL Maurice Hurst (calf)
RB Elijah Mitchell (knee)
S Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder)
Full:
DL Nick Bosa (not injury related - resting player)
C Alex Mack (not injury related - resting player)
