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Jimmy Garoppolo wore a knee brace last season in his return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He does not wear one now.
The 49ers, of course, only participate in walk-through workouts and conditioning work, but teammates have noticed that their quarterback has thrown the brace.
“You see he has no brace, so that’s the biggest thing that sticks out to me,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said Tuesday, via Cam Inman of It Mercury News. ‘As an athlete, if you do not have to think about something and it is not in the back of your mind or weighing on you, it loses so much stress, and you can play so much more freely.
“If he does not think of that knee, it will be of great benefit to him.”
Garoppolo played only three games in 2018 before the knee injury ended his season. He started every game, went for 3,978 yards and helped the 49ers to the Super Bowl last season, but said last week that his knee was ‘night and day’ compared to a year ago.
“This time last year it was more like I got back in a live pocket, live bullets flew around me and got used to it,” Garoppolo said. ‘So, there we are. I haven’t really thought about it for a long time. ”
