Jimmy Garoppolo: 3 trade spots for 49ers QB before Week 1
By Peter Panacy
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was part of trade discussions earlier this offseason, but the quarterbacking trade market has shifted a lot since.
One week, the San Francisco 49ers are projected to start quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo over the highly drafted rookie, Trey Lance.
The following week, Lance is all but guaranteed to start, while Garoppolo becomes an expendable and overpaid backup.
It must be the exact middle of the offseason.
But let’s play around with the latter scenario — one which assumes Lance will be ready to go in Week 1 after drastically closing the gap in competitive edge since last April. With over $26 million owed to Garoppolo for the rest of 2021, per Over the Cap, the Niners would want to get out from under that contract as soon as possible if he’s not the starter.
And if there’s an opportunity for San Francisco to restock its draft capital for 2022 and beyond, trying to trade Jimmy G would be the best way to help do it.
Yet the offseason quarterback carousel has slowed a lot since the NFL Draft. Previous potential Garoppolo suitors like the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears made high-profile quarterback adds via the draft, grabbing Mac Jones and Justin Fields, respectively, in Round 1. They’re likely out of the running, while other teams appear fully invested in whichever signal-callers they now have atop their depth charts.
Still, that doesn’t mean there’ll be zero markets for a Garoppolo trade between now and Week 1.
Should such a scenario play out, these three teams could be interested in making a deal with the 49ers for Garoppolo before the regular season begins in September.