The San Francisco 49ers had high hopes for the 2018 season, but just three weeks into the season and their dreams of being a legit contender in the NFC appear to be over.
The Niners were banking on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo following up his fantastic close to the 2017 season with another big year. They gave him a massive contract this offseason and felt they had secured their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future. On Sunday, the Niners fell to 1-2 on the season with a loss to the Chiefs, but losses to Minnesota and Kansas City early in the season is nothing to be ashamed of.
However, the biggest loss of Sunday wasn’t dropping a game to the Chiefs, but losing Garoppolo for the season with a knee injury. Garoppolo scrambled late in the fourth quarter and tried to fight for extra yards up the sideline, but when he planted on his left leg, his knee buckled right before he absorbed a big hit. An MRI on Monday reportedly confirmed the fears of the 49ers, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Garoppolo has indeed suffered a torn ACL and is done for the year.
MRI showed what 49ers feared: Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL and his season is over, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 24, 2018
The question for San Francisco is how to proceed from here. At 1-2, they’re not off to a good start, but again they’ve played two of the league’s best teams. Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence, and making him the starter for the rest of the year would seem to be punting on the season. They could look to the trade market for veteran help. For example, Cleveland turning the reins over to Baker Mayfield could make Tyrod Taylor available.
There’s also the chance they could turn to the free agent market, and because it’s the 49ers a popular name brought up by many will be Colin Kaepernick, although that seems highly unlikely. In any case, the Niners season is in doubt right now and they’ll have to make a decision pretty soon as to whether they want to ride this out with Beathard or take a swing on a trade or in free agency.
