The San Francisco 49ers made it clear they intended to trade Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, but thus far, they have not found an opportunity to do so.
According to Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer, San Francisco thought they would have been able to move Garoppolo by now. They intended to deal him after the situations involving some of the bigger-name quarterbacks were settled.
“The plan, as I’ve heard it, was to deal him after the big quarterback dominoes ([Deshaun] Watson, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers) fell,” Breer wrote in his Monday Morning Quarterback column.
So why hasn’t it happened yet. Well, Breer thinks that Garoppolo’s ailing shoulder, which he had surgery on after the season, could be scaring teams off.
This is similar to what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote last week. Breer listed two reasons for team’s hesitancy to trade for Garoppolo, given his health.
1. If you’re trading for him, knowing he won’t be ready until late June or early July means you’ll go through the spring building an offense for him without him on the field. And then, if he has to be managed through training camp, the problem is exacerbated.
2. He’s only under contract for 2022, at $25.6 million. So absent an extension, trading for him is a for-now move, and it’s tough to make a for-now move for a quarterback who could still have lingering effects of a throwing-shoulder injury through the only year he’s signed for.
One thing is for certain: San Francisco is not going to release Garoppolo if it can’t trade him. General manager John Lynch made that clear at the league owners meetings today.
“I don’t foresee that,” Lynch said, addressing the possibility of cutting Garoppolo, via ESPN. “He’s too good a player. I think Jimmy will be playing for us or will be playing for someone else. He’s too good of a player not to be.”
The 49ers want to turn over the starting job to 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance, who played in six games and made two starts as a rookie. With that being said, there’s a non-zero chance that they could opt to hang onto Garoppolo as an insurance policy if no trade opportunity materializes.
“My understanding is, there is certainly a scenario, and perhaps one that grows by the day, in which Jimmy Garoppolo could potentially be in a situation where he competes with the 49ers,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said. “On his current contract, maybe on an adjusted contract, he comes back and competes with Trey Lance.”
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