Jimmy Garoppolo: PFF suggests 49ers trade QB to this NFC team

While it’s highly likely Jimmy Garoppolo is gone from the 49ers in 2022, the only question is where he lands. Pro Football Focus has an idea.

For all his shortcomings, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has handled what has to be an extremely awkward and challenging situation as well as anyone could have asked.

The Niners, for all intents and purposes, are going to move on from Garoppolo in 2022 in favor of their top pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, quarterback Trey Lance, who despite not seeing meaningful snaps at all in the second half of the 2021 regular season, is the acknowledged future of the franchise.

One can debate and argue all the reasons why general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are doing this, and that’s fine.

But it doesn’t change the narrative Garoppolo will be gone next season.

Ideally, San Francisco is able to convince one of the other 31 teams out there that Garoppolo is worth a trade, challenging enough considering he’s owed $27 million in 2022 and a new team would have to take on a full-year post-trade amount of $25.6 million.

Still, the offseason market for quarterbacks is expected to be a wild one. Especially considering the 2022 draft class isn’t exactly stocked well with signal-callers.

Almost as a sales pitch, however, Lynch told KNBR 680 (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area) just how great Jimmy G has been despite having Lance look over his shoulder:

"Jimmy is a competitor… I think everything from his record to the way he plays … and I know for whatever reason, he frustrates people at some point, but he’s incredibly talented.We made a tough decision to go out and get Trey Lance and he’s responded like great competitors do. It’s brought out the best in him."

If the 49ers are able to find a buyer, who will it be?

Pro Football Focus suggests 49ers trade Jimmy Garoppolo to this NFC team

There is no shortage of quarterback-needy teams this offseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers have to be in the mix with the likelihood of Ben Roethlisberger retiring. The New Orleans Saints don’t appear to have an answer under center, and the Denver Broncos are a mess at the position, too.

In a recent prediction piece of veteran quarterback landing spots, the folks over at Pro Football Focus seem to think this NFC squad would be more than interested in seeking Garoppolo’s services in 2022.

The Carolina Panthers.

For it all to work, Carolina would send the Niners its 2022 fourth-round draft pick and a 2023 Round 2 selection in exchange for Garoppolo, taking on the remainder of his contract, which expires after next year:

"Garoppolo has played well enough through the 2021 season to keep No. 3 overall pick quarterback Trey Lance on the sidelines, but this simply cannot continue into 2022 after the team traded three first-round picks and a third-round pick to go up and get him. Lance started for effectively just one season at FCS North Dakota State before declaring for the NFL, so it’s perfectly understandable that he would have a redshirt rookie season. Still, this offseason is the time to transition into the future in the Bay Area. …Head coach Matt Rhule has made it very clear that he wants his offense to work through the run game, something Garoppolo is obviously familiar with in San Francisco. Garoppolo is also a proficient game manager if only asked to throw around 20-25 times a game, weaponizing play action as opposing defenses bite hard on run fakes."

Read More: Predicting where Jimmy Garoppolo would like to be traded

While San Francisco wouldn’t recoup the massive draft investment in Lance entirely, getting those picks back would help alleviate the picks dished out for the rights to grab Lance.

Perhaps more importantly, the 49ers would free up a sizable amount of money that would go a long way towards extending blue-chip players like EDGE Nick Bosa and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who won’t come cheap after stellar campaigns in 2021.

And if Lance is going to be as good as the Niners believe he will be, it almost won’t matter what the team gets in return for Garoppolo this offseason.