5 players 49ers must aggressively shop at 2021 trade deadline

No. 1: 49ers Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo

Yes, you knew this had to be in the cards. There’s no other way around it.

Kyle Shanahan has continuously insisted quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is his starter, while rookie Trey Lance isn’t close to being ready to take over full-time duties. While that narrative might have made sense earlier in the season, it certainly doesn’t now. Garoppolo is a lame-duck quarterback. He knows it, Shanahan knows it, Lance knows it, the team knows it and so does the rest of the league.

The 49ers have every financial reason to move on from Garoppolo sooner than later, freeing up a sizable chunk of the $26.4 million owed to him in 2021 and the $27 million owed to him in 2022. And there’s the need to turn the page to Lance, too.

But a few caveats and obstacles here.

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First, Garoppolo has a no-trade clause worked into his contract. That doesn’t mean trades can’t happen. He just merely needs to sign off on one, meaning he won’t accept a deal to a new team that will automatically rework and lessen his current contract. And he’d likely not be willing to go to a place where he’d be put into a backup role.

Although what team out there would trade for a $20-plus million backup?

Second, Garoppolo’s own on-field struggles and injury history won’t exactly create a bidding war on the market. Instead, it’ll take a desperate team with plenty of cap space to make a move, and there are few of those right now.

The Niners may be forced to agree to pay a large chunk of Garoppolo’s remaining salary this season to make a move happen, which is also unlikely but at least frees up Lance to start while getting something in return now.

The 2021 NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. ET

Projected Compensation: Round 4 NFL Draft pick