4 trades 49ers absolutely won’t make entering 2022 offseason

While it’s fun to speculate and guess what trades John Lynch and the 49ers may make this offseason, let’s cross off the deals they won’t do.

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has never been shy about making blockbuster trades, and the Niners have been involved in two of them the last two offseasons, moving defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in 2020 and then aggressively trading up in the 2021 NFL Draft to grab quarterback Trey Lance.

San Francisco is expected to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason to one of the many QB-hungry teams out there amid a weak quarterbacking market.

That’ll go down as a blockbuster. But there won’t be a shortage of other proposed blockbuster deals that could potentially be discussion points between now and training camp later this summer.

Those will be fun to speculate about. Yet let’s pay some attention to some of the other trade scenarios thrown around out there and break down the specific reasons why they won’t happen this offseason.

49ers won’t-happen trade No. 4: Trey Lance to Vikings

Nope. Not a chance. File this away under the “wish I never fathomed it” category.

But it has been discussed.

Our friends over at The Viking Age put together a list of possibilities the Minnesota Vikings could explore to solve their own quarterbacking shortcomings with Kirk Cousins. One of the proposed deals (and we’ll give credit for at least thinking out of the box) was the Vikings trading with the 49ers in a deal that’d send Lance back to his home state of Minnesota.

A crux to the argument was Garoppolo still giving the Niners their best chance at winning in 2022, but here’s the statement:

"What if, instead, the 49ers trade Trey Lance to recoup some of the draft picks they gave up to go get him in the first place and build a roster that can continue hiding some of Garoppolo’s flaws? Lance is a Minnesota kid with the size, athleticism, and arm to be a star in the NFL if he puts it all together."

If there’s one glaring problem, it’s the fact retaining Garoppolo and trading Lance would prevent San Francisco from retaining the remaining core of its roster, one that’ll include needing to extend star players like wide receiver Deebo Samuel and EDGE Nick Bosa this year.

A $27 million contract versus a rookie-contract deal matters here, and the 49ers won’t financially budge on their offseason plans even if they weren’t wholly set on Lance in the first place.

49ers won’t-happen trade No. 3: Saquon Barkley to San Francisco

Way more speculation and thought here than actual rumors. Although there is a rumor out there the New York Giants are entertaining the thought of moving on from running back Saquon Barkley this offseason.

One ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (h/t Giants Wire) suggested could take place:

"It might be time. It has been four years. Barkley has high-quality traits, but the Giants need to exhaust all options for their rebuild. Enough teams are still enamored by his skill set that they could be interested in a potential deal. Many still view Barkley as a top-shelf tailback when healthy. He’s due $7.2 million on a fifth-year option, and doing a long-term deal in New York for the 2023 free agent just doesn’t make sense for either side. Barkley in San Francisco’s offense would be fun, and Tampa Bay could have an opening if free agent Leonard Fournette signs elsewhere."

Sure, Barkley in the Niners offense would be fun. And it probably led to Twitter reactions like this:

It’ll probably end that way, though. Nothing more.

Barkley will be on his fully guaranteed fifth-year option for 2022, worth $7.2 million, according to Over the Cap. Even if San Francisco cleared over $25 million by trading Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, there are far bigger priorities to attack, particularly along the offensive line and within the secondary, not to mention extending Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa.

Plus, the 49ers are already looking to feature Elijah Mitchell as their starting running back next season after he set a franchise record for most rushing yards by a rookie with 963 in 2021.

Expending draft capital and committing more than $7 million to a player who hasn’t been quite the same since his 2020 ACL tear would be a silly move from the Niners’ vantage point.

49ers won’t-happen trade No. 2: Niners acquire Aaron Rodgers

According to multiple reports, this almost happened last year. Even after San Francisco already traded up to No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft before actually selecting Trey Lance.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers felt he was soon to be dealt by the Green Bay Packers, even speculating the 49ers would be his likely destination. Ultimately staying, and with the Niners taking Lance shortly thereafter, Rodgers hung around for his “last dance” with the Packers that led to their eventual defeat at the hands of his boyhood team in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.

Green Bay should move Rodgers this offseason. If he was unable to lead the Packers to another Super Bowl after the 2021 season, Green Bay’s 2022 squad surely won’t be any better. And with fellow quarterback Jordan Love in the fold and amid a bad offseason quarterback market, the Packers won’t get a higher return on Rodgers than they will now.

Except no move to San Francisco will be in the cards.

Later last spring, a report surfaced stating how Kyle Shanahan (somewhat jokingly) asked Packers head coach Matt LaFleur about Rodgers’ availability, to which LaFleur responded, “there’s no way in hell that we’re trading him to you guys.”

Aside from another year in the books, what’s changed? Not much.

And it won’t, at least as far as a Rodgers-to-49ers deal is concerned.

49ers won’t-happen trade No. 1: Tom Brady comes home

You’d almost file this under being wholly laughable, but the fact it stemmed from the New England Patriots’ radio broadcaster, Scott Zolak, gives it some modest credit.

During an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand Show (h/t NESN), Zolak pointed out quarterback Tom Brady’s recent retirement from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and from football could come to a quick end.

Provided the Niners would be willing to ship off Garoppolo to the Bucs in exchange for Brady’s rights:

"I just think that [joining the 49ers] is what Brady’s focused on. He’s been focused on it for two years, and they’ve gotta deal Jimmy, and [Brady] knows that [Trey] Lance isn’t ready and he knows that team is built to win now. That’s attractive to him. Name another one that’s attractive where it’s plug-and-play."

OK, so Brady was on record saying he wanted to play until he was 45 years old yet retired at 44. And he did grow up a San Francisco fan, his parents still living in nearby San Mateo, California.

What’s crazy about this proposed trade idea is it’s probably the one out of these four that makes the most plausible sense. The 49ers could still keep Lance in a No. 2 role for another season while making another Super Bowl run with a returning-home Brady at the helm in 2022.

Except that whole financials-part of the issue and the ramifications it’d carry as noted before.

That aside, it’s still silly speculation and part of the whole fun narrative of trying to create talking points that won’t ultimately go anywhere.

Just like all four of these no-go trade scenarios that the Niners won’t do.