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Jimmy Garoppolo injury update: 49ers star carted off with knee injury

By Matt Verderame

KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 23: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on September 23rd, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 23: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on September 23rd, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images) /
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The San Francisco 49ers have to be holding their collective breath as Jimmy Garoppolo was carted off the field in Kansas City with a knee injury.

The 49ers are only in Week 3, but a once-promising season could be over. In the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo scrambled left and turned upfield, only to be leveled by corner Steven Nelson.

The result was Garoppolo staying down on the field for several moments before being taken into the blue medical tent on the San Francisco sideline. Before long, Garoppolo was wheeled to the locker room on the back of the cart, with the team worried about a left knee injury.

If Garoppolo is out for the season, San Francisco is going to have a tough time competing in the brutally good NFC. C.J. Beathard is the backup quarterback, and while the second-year man out of Iowa has some experience, there’s no reason to think he can make the grade.

This would be an ugly loss for the 49ers and the NFL. Garoppolo is one of the bright, shining stars of the NFL within the same generation as Andrew Luck, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield and others. If he can’t return to the 49ers at some point in 2018, San Francisco would have to realistically be thinking about draft picks in the future.

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Before getting hurt, Garoppolo played very well against the Chiefs, completing 20-of-30 attempts for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Hopefully the 26-year-old can return next week and all of this turns out to be a huge scare, but the early indications are the team believes it is serious.