San Francisco 49ers: Making sense of Adam Schefter report on Jimmy Garoppolo
By Peter Panacy
On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter hinted the San Francisco 49ers may not extend quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, instead using the franchise tag and possibly trading him this offseason. Niner Noise breaks down the reports, speculation and what this all means.
A day before last Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the San Francisco 49ers made a deal to acquire former New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
The move all but secured the Niners’ franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Not so fast, though, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
On Sunday, Schefter reported the Niners could possibly keep Garoppolo, a pending free agent, via use of the franchise tag, then put him on the trading block to the highest bidder.
Schefter wrote:
"If the 49ers do not sign Garoppolo to a long-term deal, they could use a franchise tag on him and then dangle him to the highest bidder in a trade. If they were to do that, other teams would be interested, sources said, and they could possibly get back more than the second-round pick they surrendered."
More on the speculation can be seen in the video below:
Granted, the quarterback market is going to be hot and heavy this offseason. It’s something Niner Noise addressed late last week, especially considering the 49ers’ likely high positioning in the 2018 NFL Draft.
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More than a handful of teams could use a starting-caliber quarterback next year. That’s not news.
What’s subject to conjecture, though, is determining what the Niners finally elect do do.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan gave up the team’s second-round pick in 2018 to acquire Garoppolo. Another team could offer San Francisco a first-round pick for Garoppolo’s services, giving Lynch and Shanahan an increase in their investment and allowing the Niners to pursue other options, as Schefter suggested.
But here’s why that’s not exactly a guarantee either.
All Part of the Negotiation Process Between 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat’s Grant Cohn set the context of the situation, pointing towards Garoppolo’s camp having all the leverage in contract negotiations. Cohn contacted former 49ers GM Scot McCloughan and reported the talk as such:
"“Garoppolo and his agent have all the leverage, though,” I said on the phone. “Is that how you see it?”“It is,” McCloughan said. “But the thing with Don Yee, who I know well, I guarantee there have been discussions. It’s cool that nothing is coming out from Jimmy or Don or San Francisco. But I guarantee, you don’t make a trade like this and give up the compensation like this without having a really good feeling that it’s going to work for long-term.”"
Earlier in the article, Cohn considered Lynch’s move a mistake — not having Garoppolo locked up before making the trade.
Not so fast, though.
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You see, Schefter reporting the Niners could consider moving the quarterback after franchising him is merely negotiating leverage. That’s it. It’s a statement from San Francisco saying Garoppolo’s camp doesn’t hold all the cards here.
Simply put, the 49ers can just as easily move on from Garoppolo this offseason if he asks vastly more than what the team is comfortable giving, contractually. And the Niners will probably get a decent return, at least not losing out on their trade investment with New England.
All negotiations are meant to be performed by positions of power, and Lynch and Co. are proving they know how to go about doing it.
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So read into both Schefter’s report and Cohn’s analysis as you wish, but it’s little more than part of the process.