Jimmy Garoppolo won’t debut in the 49ers’ preseason opener Saturday at Levi’s Stadium. In fact, he won’t play at home at all this preseason. He will play in Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after Tuesday’s practice.
The original plan was to wait until after the first preseason game to evaluate Garoppolo’s readiness for the rest of the preseason slate. Apparently the team and training staff have liked what they’ve seen in camp enough to deem him ready for game action in the weeks following the opener.
San Francisco’s second preseason game is set to take place Monday, Aug. 19 in Denver. That’ll follow a week of joint practices in the Mile High City. Typically the starters play a bit more in the second preseason game than they do in the first, so a couple of series would seem logical for Garoppolo in his first game action since tearing his ACL in Week 3 last season.
The following game is the 49ers’ return to the site of Garoppolo’s injury – Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. That’s scheduled for Aug. 24.
Third preseason games are treated as a final dress rehearsal for the starters in preparation for the start of the regular season. Garoppolo should get another few series to help knock the rust off and ready himself for Week 1 in Tampa Bay.
Most starters don’t play in Week 4 of the preseason, so it makes sense hee wouldn’t play in that one at home against the Chargers.
While the offseason has been about mitigating injury risk, it’ll be important for Garoppolo to face an opposing defense before stepping into a regular season situation. There are mental hurdles to clear along with the physical ones. He doesn’t need to do a ton in those games, but getting comfortable against a real, live pass rush and seeing a defense will be vital to getting him as close to 100 percent as possible.
