All eyes are back under center as the 49ers figure out their quarterback situation for Week 18.
After missing last week’s contest with a torn ligament and small bone fracture in his right thumb, Jimmy Garoppolo threw the football around Tuesday. The 49ers quarterback said he didn’t “feel so hot” when he woke up Wednesday.
“It f–king … it hurts,” Garoppolo told reporters. “I don’t know how else to describe it. It feels like the web in your hand is kind of tearing a little bit. That’s probably the best way I could describe it, but it’s all good.”
Rookie Trey Lance led the 49ers to a 23-7 win Sunday over the Houston Texans after turning around the offense in the second half. He went 16-of-23 for 249 yards, two touchdowns and an interception through the air while rushing eight times for 31 yards and having another 3-yard score wiped out by a holding penalty.
“Trey I thought did really well,” Garoppolo said. “He was calm out there. Did well on the sideline. Tried to help him out as much as I could. He did well.”
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Lance would receive the majority of the reps in Wednesday’s practice, which isn’t a full-speed session. Garoppolo will be limited for Wednesday’s practice, but it sounds like he’ll have every opportunity to start Sunday.
“I think we gotta be careful,” Shanahan said. “I think waiting until when we did definitely helped get him to this point. But I think each day is a new experience with it. I think it’s going to be mainly on Jimmy, at Jimmy’s pace. Just talking to him and making sure he doesn’t push it too hard to give him a chance for Sunday.”
Matt Barrows of The Athletic shared video and his observations from the practice field in Santa Clara.
Garoppolo said he knows that he won’t be 100 percent for the rest of the season, so he’s focused on making the necessary adjustments.
“Just feeling that out, just feeling the new tape job that we’re working with,” Garoppolo said. “I’m trying to get it back to my old motion where it’s fluid and everything like that but it will just take some time. It’s a process but we’re working in the right direction.”
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Shanahan said he’s yet to make a decision and likely won’t inform the media whenever he does make up his mind this week. The 49ers can clinch a postseason berth with a win over the NFC West champ Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, or with a loss by the New Orleans Saints. Both games kick off at 1:25 p.m. PT.
Garoppolo said he’s trying to balance his desire to play with the weight of the team’s high-stakes matchup.
“It’s definitely a fine line,” Garoppolo said. “It is. A lot of thinking during the day, at night, about everything that has gone into this whole season to get us to this point. It’s a long season. A lot of things happened, a lot of players played, the ups and downs. You go through all that stuff just to get an opportunity that we have this Sunday. That’s all we could ask for. As far as playing, I’m going to do everything I can to be out there with the guys. It’s a big one. Whatever I can do to be out there, I’m going to be out there. At the same time you gotta be smart and see what’s going to be best for the team to win.”
