4 best fits for Jimmy Garoppolo (if he moves on from 49ers in 2022)
By Peter Panacy
While there’s a small chance Jimmy Garoppolo could actually stay with the 49ers next season, he’s likely moving on, and these teams may suit his needs best.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers are playing with house money right now, fresh off a thrilling Week 18 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams that propelled them into the playoffs.
Garoppolo was far from perfect in that game. Yet he was a massive reason why the Niners overcame a 17-point deficit to ultimately pull off the victory.
And with a high-profile Wild Card matchup against the Dallas Cowboys now on the table, Garoppolo will look to continue improving his player stock all the way into the offseason.
Whenever San Francisco’s current campaign comes to a close.
Garoppolo is still under contract with the 49ers through 2022, so there’s always the slight chance he’ll stick around one more year. But, with the Niners trading a swarm of future NFL Draft picks for the rights to grab quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall last spring, one would be better off assuming Garoppolo is proverbially “riding off into the sunset” as best as he can with San Francisco.
Whether the 49ers trade him or release him outright, these four quarterback-needy teams would ideally wind up being best-fit cases for Jimmy G in 2022.
No. 4: Jimmy Garoppolo to the Minnesota Vikings
It’s anyone’s guess what the Minnesota Vikings are going to do this offseason in the wake of firing head coach Mike Zimmer. Their own quarterback, Kirk Cousins, is potentially on the outs, too, although his current contractual situation makes this awfully precarious and difficult to predict.
Nevertheless, a completely revamped Minnesota front office is likely on the table, and outside of the Green Bay Packers, the rest of the NFC North isn’t exactly poised to be overly good anytime soon.
Like another team on this list, the Vikings will have to nail their head-coaching decision or at least land a quality offensive coordinator. Yet the roster has pieces tailored to give Garoppolo some much-needed weaponry, namely a strong ground game behind running back Dalvin Cook to pair with one of the league’s best young wide receivers, Justin Jefferson.
Garoppolo and Cousins might be of similar ilk, decent quarterbacks who at least need a quality supporting cast.
Yet Minnesota has that, offensively, and perhaps all that’s needed here is the spark to put the Vikings back into playoff contention in an otherwise shaky division.
Plus, Jimmy G would get to play his boyhood team, the Chicago Bears, twice a year. That’s a nice bonus.