Why Kyle Shanahan Wants an Injured Jimmy Garoppolo to Start

There is a reason that Kyle Shanahan wants to start an injured Jimmy Garoppolo over a healthy Trey Lance.

Jimmy Garoppolo is officially doubtful against the Texans.

However, Kyle Shanahan at his press conference Friday is still holding out hope for him to start.

"Jimmy's not out, so I'm holding out hope," said Shanahan. "He's got a chance this week, so he'll have a better chance next week."

Anytime a player is given a doubtful status, they are essentially ruled out for the game. Considering Garoppolo will be only 10 days removed since his injury, it would be wild to let him start. Yet, Shanahan keeps holding out hope for Garoppolo. 

What seemed like the end of Garoppolo's tenure with the 49ers looks as if he will get one more start at least. It says a lot that Shanahan wants to roll with Garoppolo who has an injured throwing hand over Trey Lance. You can look at it from a bunch of angles as to why Shanahan is adamant about it.

But here is why Shanahan wants an injured Garoppolo to start.

Shanahan does not want to throw Lance into the fire just yet. Starting Week 5 when the season is still incredible long is not the same as starting Week 17 with hefty playoff implications. The amount of pressure Lance will face against the Texans and beyond should he still start is tremendous. 

Now, had Lance been the starter since Week 1, then this would be viewed differently. Lance would have had some wear on his tires. He would have been more battle tested and better prepared. Having to start his second game of his career with the margin for error slim is unfair to him. 

And this is why I believe Shanahan doesn't want Lance to take over.

He acknowledges that having him get his early reps toward developing with a playoff atmosphere is not ideal. It is basically sink or swim for Lance, and finding that in-between for Shanahan with him is going to be difficult. He'd rather ride with Garoppolo, injury and all, than put Lance in a compromising position.

Plus, there is a chance Lance's confidence can become shot. Should the 49ers get to the Wild Card round, not only does the pressure grow exponentially, but Lance's confidence in terms of being vulnerable. No one knows how he will handle it all. For all anyone knows, Lance can handle it quite fine. 

But this is a risk I don't think Shanahan wants to take.