Predicting where Jimmy Garoppolo, 5 other quarterbacks play in 2022

The 49ers are highly likely to move Jimmy Garoppolo in 2022, and he’s only one of a number of quarterbacks who could be playing elsewhere next season.

There was always a dull chorus of San Francisco 49ers fans who thought it possible their team would retain veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo beyond 2021 even after the Niners aggressively traded up in the NFL Draft to land their perceived signal-caller of the future, Trey Lance.

Yet those theories and calls have grown quieter, especially as Lance has started to reveal the signs of being a top-quality quarterback for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co.

Clearing Garoppolo’s 2022 salary cap hit, either by way of a trade or outright release, has to be one of the primary objectives for San Francisco this offseason. And while Garoppolo has his own limitations, both in terms of his on-field play and injury liability, the 2022 quarterbacking market should give him and the 49ers a good amount of value.

Plainly stated, the offseason market isn’t a good one.

There aren’t too many likable options in free agency, and the NFL Draft isn’t exactly featuring a lot of eye-opening options either. So, for those quarterback-needy teams out there, players like Garoppolo are going to be attractive options.

Let’s take a look at predicting where Garoppolo and these five other quarterbacks wind up playing in 2022.

No. 6: Jimmy Garoppolo is traded to Broncos

After finishing dead last in the AFC West two years in a row and not having a winning season since 2016, changes are likely afoot for the Denver Broncos, which likely includes parting ways with head coach Vic Fangio.

Those changes should also involve moving on from quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock, too, and Denver hasn’t had any kind of solidarity under center since the days of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning over the first half of the previous decade.

Yet the Broncos roster is stocked well enough on both sides of the ball, particularly with a young offensive line and playmaking receivers like Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton.

All that’s been needed for a while now is a good quarterback.

Unfortunately, Denver doesn’t have multiple first-round picks in this year’s NFL Draft to make an aggressive trade offer for a Pro Bowl signal-caller like the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson or the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, but the Broncos do have four picks on day two of the draft, the additional two picked up from the Los Angeles Rams via the trade for EDGE Von Miller.

One of those should be enough to acquire Garoppolo, as Niners general manager John Lynch’s well-established relationship with Denver works itself out well for both parties this offseason.