Jimmy Garoppolo Gives Honest Response to Jason Verrett’s Injury: ‘That’s Football’
Nov 11, 2022, 8:00 AM | Updated: 8:21 am
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 30: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field after being defeated by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
As much as I hate to say it, days like today happen in professional sports. Athletes are used to it, it’s part of the game.
In case you missed it, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jason Verrett tore his left Achilles tendon Wednesday at practice, ending his 2022 redemption campaign. The 49er was on his way back from a torn ACL suffered in Week 1 of last season, officially activated off the PUP list prior to the team’s Bye Week. Set to possibly make his season debut Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, JV was looking his best during the media portion of practice Wednesday.
All of that hope went out the window in the blink of an eye.
Confirmed as a non-contact injury by defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans Thursday, the 31-year-old CB has an enormous mountain to climb if he wants to step foot on the gridiron again.
Unfortunately, this is part of the game, and no one understands that more than quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. While on different sides of the ball, Verrett’s injury was felt by all of his teammates, filled with a plethora of emotions that left the team, including Jimmy, speechless.
"Prayers up for him, I love that guy."
Jimmy Garoppolo on the team's emotions after Jason Verrett's devastating injury pic.twitter.com/jk7CJkun9X
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 11, 2022
“It was weird. It was emotional. I don’t know, you see it all the time, but in our locker room, a guy that you’ve been a brother with as long as Jason, you’ve seen him go through the process of injury after injury and just grinding to come back from it. It’s just tough when you see a guy go down like that because we all put in so much work,” Jimmy Garoppolo said Thursday to the media.
And unfortunately, situations like this happen more times than not. Of course, the emotions are real but it’s part of the game, you have to move on to the next play and deal with the cards you’re dealt.
“The time that you put into this game is, it’s unforgiving,” he explained. “When you see something happen like that, it breaks your heart. But that’s football. I mean it’s happened to me, it’s happening to all of us, it’s gonna happen to everyone at some point, but you just got to live with it…It was awkward, kind of quiet, but you just gotta move on, as cold-hearted as it sounds. It’s just kind of part of the business.”
Garoppolo is coming back from his own injury, undergoing shoulder surgery in March that prevented him from being traded during the offseason. And while it’s worked out for the better, with Jimmy stepping in for the injured Trey Lance since Week 2, he admitted Thursday that there have been doubts about regaining his throwing abilities this season.
“It’s getting there. The shoulder obviously, you’re always trying to get that better and better, strengthen it, be able to make some of the throws that you used to make, so I don’t think that will ever go away completely. But no, I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Garoppolo said.
