Jimmy Garoppolo: 3 new teams that could want 49ers QB in 2022

Let’s face it, the 49ers aren’t going to keep Jimmy Garoppolo in 2022 no matter how well he plays over the rest of this season.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo could play lights-out football for the rest of 2021, and that wouldn’t change the Niners’ eventual plans for moving on from him.

True, Garoppolo has played well as of late, tossing six touchdowns and rushing for an additional two against just one interception over his last four contests, helping a stretch where San Francisco has gone 3-1 and gotten itself back into the playoff discussion.

But with rookie quarterback Trey Lance in the folds, a prospect for whom the 49ers traded away two future first-round NFL Draft picks and an additional third-round selection, it’s not realistic to consider Garoppolo as someone the Niners will retain after 2021.

Garoppolo carries a cap hit of $27 million next season, and San Francisco will be on the hook for just $1.4 million of that if he’s released or traded this offseason, according to Over the Cap.

It’s not clear yet whether or not another team would be willing to absorb that kind of money on a trade, and it’s also anyone’s guess what the 49ers would get in return if there was a trade market for Garoppolo anyway.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be a market, though.

The 2022 NFL Draft quarterback market is shaky and thin, while the free-agent class isn’t inspiring. True, other quarterbacks like the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson could be on the move. That’ll shake up the market, and it’ll likely remove some of the teams we’ve previously listed as potential Garoppolo suitors, such as the Denver Broncos or even the Miami Dolphins.

But just over the halfway point of the season, there are an additional three teams that could be in line for Jimmy G’s services next year.

Let’s take a look at those.