Jimmy Garoppolo Had His 'Best Spring' at OTAs Per Kyle Shanahan

[Sourdough Sam]

Since joining the 49ers back in October of 2017, Jimmy Garoppolo hasn't had many full (and healthy) offseasons with San Francisco. In the spring of 2019, the quarterback was working his way back from a season-ending ACL tear. And last offseason, there was no in-person instruction across the league given the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This time around, Garoppolo is coming off of a 2020 campaign that ended on Injured Reserve while dealing with multiple high-ankle sprains throughout the season that kept him out of the lineup for nearly three quarters of the year.


Since, the quarterback has been on hand for the 49ers offseason workout program and noted that his ankle has been at "100 percent" for some time now, crediting a strong offseason regimen. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is on par with the quarterback, noting his offseason performance during the last several weeks as being significantly improved.


"I think Jimmy had his best spring since we've had him," Shanahan said on Wednesday. "We had the spring the first year with him. The second year he had the ACL, so we didn't get that. And then last year, it was COVID, so this is really his second one not being on an ACL.


"I thought Jimmy came in in great shape, really locked in, a good place physically and mentally. And I thought he had as good of OTAs as he's had."


Garoppolo's ankle limited him to just six games in 2020. He completed over 67 percent of his passes for 1,096 yards and seven touchdowns to five interceptions.


The 49ers anticipate the quarterback being on track as San Francisco's starter heading into training camp next month. During the team's offseason program, Garoppolo took all of the 49ers first-team reps followed by rookie quarterback Trey Lance taking second-team reps under center.


Shanahan is pleased with Lance's ability to handle the load of the 49ers offense throughout his first offseason program. Despite the early end to San Francisco's OTAs, the 49ers plan to keep Lance and the rest of the rookies at the facility for several days before heading out for the summer.


"I think he did a good job," Shanahan said of Lance. "Just being able to throw everything at him, we got through the whole installation. There's a process of it. Some days you do good, some days you do bad, but there's a whole up and down with it that is necessary for a guy to go through. So, you can get those reps, soak it in, have an idea of what it feels like. Now we have tape to show him, tape to talk to him about, he gets to get away on his own and have an idea of what's expected out of him when he gets back."


The 49ers are scheduled to report to the SAP Performance Facility for training camp on July 27.