49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made a decision to bench quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at halftime of the team’s Week 5 blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins. He cited safety concerns with Garoppolo battling a high ankle sprain. While Shanahan anticipates Garoppolo will be healthier in Week 6, he said Wednesday in a video conference with reporters that the plan to potentially pull the quarterback mid-game remains in pace.
“Lots of guys go out there and they have things that prohibit them from being their best,” Shanahan said of Garoppolo’s high ankle sprain. “But if you can play, you still have to go out there and perform and I’ll be the judge of that watching him throughout the week and if he has a good week of practice and looks like he gives us the best chance to win, then I won’t hesitate. If it looks like it hurts in the game and it’s prohibited him, then we’ll do what we did again.”
The 49ers pulled Garoppolo at halftime in favor of CJ Beathard on their way to a 43-17 defeat. Garoppolo finished the game 7-of-17 for 77 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
If he has a similar first-half showing against the Rams, the score may be even worse than the 30-7 deficit they faced at halftime last week. If he’s performing even a little better and the score is closer, it’s hard to imagine the 49ers pull him for the second week in a row. And if he does get pulled for a second consecutive week, it may behoove them to shut him down until he’s healthy enough to start a game strong and finish it.
