49ers rumors: 3 reasons why Teddy Bridgewater is on team’s radar
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers want Teddy Bridgewater as a ‘bridge’ to 2022
Sorry for the pun, but it applies here.
The cost of having both Teddy Bridgewater and Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster at the same time, even if Jimmy G takes a pay cut, doesn’t make much sense at all. But it would make sense if San Francisco is actually planning to move on from Garoppolo this offseason.
One reason why is the 49ers could still be planning on adding a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft, perhaps with the No. 12 overall pick or higher, assuming there’s a trade-up of some sort.
If that’s what happens, Garoppolo’s future in San Francisco is as a lame-duck quarterback, and the Niners wouldn’t want to pay him an exorbitant amount of money to hold the line until 2022 when that rookie would be able to take full command of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Bridgewater might not necessarily be an upgrade over Garoppolo, but he is cheaper and younger. Those are factors working in his favor. And with the 49ers in a position to win now, it would be safe to assume Bridgewater would provide a better chance to reach the playoffs than a rookie quarterback.
For this to make sense, the Niners would have to use an early draft pick on a quarterback, then they’d wait until after June 1 to make the trade for Bridgewater while also shipping Garoppolo out either by way of a cut or trade.
In the meantime, those feelers were merely to gauge Carolina’s initial asking price before the draft kicks off this April.