Any quarterback injury in training camp will have a ripple effect that rapidly touches the 49ers. That’s why it resonated in the Bay Area when Saints quarterback Jameis Winston had to leave practice with what turned out to be a foot injury. After practice Saints head coach Dennis Allen called it a “tweak,” and didn’t have an update beyond that. Now Nick Underhill, who covers the Saints for NewOrleans.Football, is reporting the injury isn’t believed to be major.
It’s not a slam dunk that the Saints would even call the 49ers about Garoppolo if they did lose Winston for an extended period of time though. They signed veteran Andy Dalton in the offseason, and New Orleans could opt to just roll with him as their QB1 if Winston is sidelined for any amount of time.
However, the injury scare was a reminder of why the 49ers are hesitant to release Garoppolo before they absolutely have to on August 30. He’s a starting-caliber QB and all it takes is one injury for Garoppolo to suddenly become extremely valuable for a team like New Orleans that hopes to contend.
Until Winston is back in action though, all eyes in Santa Clara will be on the Saints to see if they have any interest in adding a new QB.
