NFL.com suggests SF 49ers move Jimmy Garoppolo, grab Kirk Cousins

Another well-known NFL analyst is suggesting the SF 49ers move on from Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason while grabbing the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins.

The SF 49ers could do one of a number of different things at quarterback this offseason, and there’s no shortage of speculation surrounding what could happen with the team’s starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, in 2021.

Should the Niners keep Jimmy G, he’ll count up to $26.9 million against a salary cap projected to drop as low as $175 million next season. With over $150 million already committed to on-roster players next year and 40 pending free agents, that’ll be a lot of money for San Francisco to absorb.

There are outs built into Garoppolo’s contract, of course. If the SF 49ers were to trade or cut the quarterback, it would generate $24.1 million in cap savings. Garoppolo has a no-trade clause worked into his contract. But one has to imagine he’d waive that if the would-be trade partner would be a likable destination.

The New England Patriots are one such possibility, and Garoppolo could theoretically reunite with the head coach who drafted him, Bill Belichick.

And that’s what NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal predicted could happen this offseason:

"Two years after appearing in just three games, Jimmy G. missed most of the season again, just when the guaranteed money in his five-year contract ran out. The 29-year-old has two years left on that deal, but the 49ers can save nearly all of his $26.9 million cap hit in 2021 by moving on, and it feels like the right time to do so, especially if his old bosses in New England want him back."

The Patriots have an estimated $61-plus million in cap space next season, and it doesn’t seem likely they’ll entertain the idea of quarterbacks Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer as long-term options. Now, it’s possible New England won’t want to absorb Garoppolo’s deal via a trade, potentially forcing San Francisco to release him outright.

Either way, Rosenthal thinks New England winds up being a plausible destination.

Yet that opens up the obvious void under center for the SF 49ers. Rosenthal has a solution for head coach Kyle Shanahan, too.

NFL.com suggests Kirk Cousins winds up going to SF 49ers

Shanahan’s affinity for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins also needs little introduction. More than one report, later backed up by the Niners front office, suggested Shanahan’s initial plan way back in 2017 was to wait for Cousins to hit the open market, then San Francisco would grab him.

Except the 2017 Garoppolo trade from New England thwarted that idea, and Cousins eventually signed with Minnesota in 2018.

Cousins has been good, if not overly stellar during his two-plus years with the Vikings, and there’s also no shortage of speculation Minnesota might shake things up under center in the near future. And Rosenthal is among those who have joined the Cousins-to-Shanahan speculation train by saying this would be the move the SF 49ers make:

"Cousins only has one year left of guaranteed money on his contract and would be easier to trade than [Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt] Ryan. A deal would actually save the Vikings $11 million in cap space — while also opening up a huge quarterback conundrum. Shanahan’s long-term love for Cousins makes the prospect of his relocation something more than idle speculation."

Rosenthal points out the $11 million in cap savings for Minnesota, but it would still be an expensive trade generating $20 million in dead money.

But massive roster shakeups tend to be expensive. This is a case example.

Cousins would then cost the SF 49ers $21 million in 2021, should a trade take place, and $35 million in 2022. While there would be a slight drop in money owed from Garoppolo to Cousins next season, the long-term projections in terms of the Niners’ cap situation don’t necessarily improve. If anything, the situation gets worse. And if the salary cap doesn’t bounce back in 2022, San Francisco would be in a much more precarious situation with its roster and cap space.

That’s probably another reason why the SF 49ers don’t engineer this kind of move.

Still, Shanahan is in charge here, and one has to think there’s a small part of him that still wants Cousins donning red and gold at some point, preferably sooner than later.

And when it lines up with the Niners potentially moving on from Garoppolo, it’s understandable why more analysts suggest a Jimmy G-to-New England move parallels a Cousins-to-San Francisco move this offseason.