San Francisco 49ers: Breaking down blockbuster deal for Jimmy Garoppolo

The San Francisco 49ers made a shocking move to acquire former New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo before the trade deadline. Let’s break it down.

One day before the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline, the San Francisco 49ers pulled off a whopping deal to acquire New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in exchange for the Niners’ own second-round NFL Draft pick in 2018.

News of the transaction was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport went on to break down the deal for both sides, which can be seen in the video below:

Rapoport also reported the Niners tried to include recently benched quarterback Brian Hoyer in the deal, but that didn’t pan out and Hoyer has since been released.

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Wow.

This trade does a few things, obviously. And it’s going to be a few days before we can digest all the news from a winless San Francisco squad.

The obvious point is it’s an attempt to fix one of the worst quarterbacking situations in the NFL. Prior to the move, the Niners’ combination of Hoyer and rookie C.J. Beathard owned the league’s 30th- and 32nd-ranked passer ratings — 74.1 and 65.2, respectively.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch had three options here — roll with what they had and hope either Hoyer or Beathard improved, wait until free agency or the 2018 NFL Draft or make a move now before the deadline.

Let’s break down that third option.

A Much Cheaper Investment than Free Agency

Hoyer was never a long-term option, and the ceiling is likely pretty low on Beathard. So that crosses off the first choice on Shanahan and Lynch’s list.

The other NFL-ready option would be to wait for free agency, liking luring in someone like the Washington Redskins’ Kirk Cousins, which has dominated free-agent discussions for some time now.

A Cousins and Shanahan reunion is out of the question now, and with Cousins coming off his second franchise tag in as many years, the Niners have no need to worry about dishing out upwards of $25 million for the quarterback’s services.

That’s money that could be spent elsewhere to address the many San Francisco needs this offseason.

NFL Draft Not as Deep as Thought

According to former KNBR 680 insider Kevin Jones, Shanahan apparently wasn’t enthralled with the level of quarterbacking talent available through the collegiate ranks:

Indeed, many of the top-tier college quarterbacks haven’t looked quite as sharp this season. Wyoming’s Josh Allen hasn’t looked good, and neither has UCLA’s Josh Rosen. And with USC’s Sam Darnold likely to stay in school another year, the chances of a top quarterback going to a still-rebuilding 49ers seemed much less likely.

Garoppolo does have the advantage of being groomed underneath the Patriots and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

Who knows whether or not that translates to success over to the Niners, but it’s food for thought.

A Difference in Regime

Garoppolo’s success or failure in Santa Clara is going to be a key discussion for quite some time. The Niners’ second rounder in 2018 is going to be high, possibly around Nos. 33 or 34, which is a pretty big investment.

But consider this — former general manager Trent Baalke never would have made such an aggressive move, certainly not on the offensive side of the ball. So that means something from Lynch and Shanahan.

And then there’s this:

San Francisco’s blockbuster move even received the approval from another former Niners GM, Scot McCloughan:

Garoppolo, 25 years old, has the potential to be a long-term fixture for San Francisco. Or he could be a wasted pick in what still looks to be a long rebuild.

We don’t know yet.

Regardless, the Niners have crossed off a major need from their list of needs. And we can spend the next weeks and months speculating whether or not it was the right one.

Next: 4 moves the 49ers should make at the trade deadline

But at least we can give credit for San Francisco not settling for mediocrity. That’s a plus.