Jimmy Garoppolo trade could be delayed by QB’s shoulder injury

The timeline seemed to be pretty straightforward for Jimmy Garoppolo. His offseason shoulder surgery would put him on track to start throwing in late June or early July. That would give him time to throw for teams that could potentially vie for his services in the trade market. Once a team saw him throw and had him evaluated he was supposed to become a commodity again. There may be more to health equation than simply throwing on air in workouts though.

Dr. Nirav Pandya, an Associate Professor of UCSF Orthopedic Surgery, said in a radio hit on 95.7 the Game in San Francisco that Garoppolo’s health post-surgery will remain a question mark until he’s able to play in games. That first game may not be soon though.

“He’s right around four months post-surgery, which for most kinds of shoulder surgeries that quarterbacks get, you’ll start throwing,” Pandya said. “But it’s very slow progress. You’re kind of starting out with low repetition, low velocity, low distance over four-to-five weeks, increasing the number of reps and how hard you’re throwing. So I think, number one in the first several weeks of returning to throw, you’re looking at: is he developing soreness? Are his mechanics different, and what does his accuracy look like, particularly if he can get into scrimmages? And then the tough thing is that there’s throwing, and then there’s contact. And that contact comes more at six months typically with these injuries. So, number one they have to make sure he can complete the throwing program, and number two can he take contact?”

Team doctors can evaluate Garoppolo in the days following his workouts, but he’s missing vital time if he’s waiting six months until he first takes contact. Garoppolo had his surgery in early March, which puts him out for the entire preseason slate and has him first taking contact right as the season starts.

Any team that possibly wants Garoppolo to play would be taking a significant gamble since there’s no way of identifying how well his shoulder will hold up in a game situation.

Even if Garoppolo gets through his throwing program and teams feel good about what they see in that environment, Dr. Pandya said plenty of post-surgery evaluation still needs to take place.

“But I think the tough things is where you’re gonna see subtle changes in terms of how his shoulder may feel after his surgery, is when he’s in a game situation,” Pandya said. “You’re talking about is he gonna release a…