Jimmy Garoppolo reportedly isn’t generating interest 49ers hoped

There’s still wide speculation pointing to the 49ers trading Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, but his market appears colder than initially thought.

A key business aspect is to buy low and sell high. From the San Francisco 49ers’ perspective, they want to sell high on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

It’s no secret the Niners plan on moving on from Jimmy G in favor of their top prospect from last year’s NFL Draft, Trey Lance, whom they dished out multiple first-round picks for. And to re-sign some of its key free agents, as well as extend superstars like Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa, San Francisco will need to clear the bulk of the $27 million owed to Garoppolo in 2022.

On the surface, it would appear the 49ers would be trading off Garoppolo at the perfect time. The 2022 landscape for quarterback-needy teams isn’t good with almost zero long-term options in free agency and awfully few high-profile prospects in the 2022 draft.

And with more QB-needy teams out there than quarterbacks perceived to be available, Garoppolo should have a good market, right?

Maybe not.

Reports suggest Jimmy Garoppolo market is colder than 49ers thought

Let’s put together some of the signs here. Not long ago, appearing on Pro Football Focus’ Ari Meirov’s podcast, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported it wasn’t a “lock” Garoppolo would be traded this offseason.

Even though every reasonable assumption says otherwise.

Not long after that, the Pat McAfee Show cited Schefter’s closeness with the Niners front office and even went as far to speculate San Francisco leaked that information to Schefter to potentially drive up Garoppolo’s offseason value:

But wait, there’s more…

Appearing on KNBR 680, The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami speculated the 49ers simply weren’t getting the kind of return offers for which they hoped:

"I think the 49ers haven’t gotten the trade offer they want. I don’t think there’s a great value for him.People know exactly who Jimmy is. He’s an injury-prone 30-year-old who can win in the right conditions but is limited in talent. And some coaches might want him, but they’re not going to go, “Here’s a [first-round pick]. Oh, let me give you two [first-round picks].”"

All of this does make a lot of sense. Garoppolo isn’t the kind of quarterbacks teams would proverbial trip over to acquire, not like some of the other big names potentially available on the trade market this offseason, the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers or the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.

Related Story: 4 trade partners for Jimmy Garoppolo if Aaron Rodgers retires

Garoppolo, at his best, would be a fall-back option for teams unable to land a Rodgers or a Wilson in a blockbuster offseason deal.

Not much more than that. Hence the colder market, reportedly.

Could a market for Jimmy Garoppolo heat up?

Short answer? Absolutely.

Leaks, speculation and rumors are what the NFL offseason is all about, and teams will use these to their advantage, either driving up or down asking prices depending on the market.

The futures of Rodgers and Wilson might have to be determined first before any team is willing to dish out capital to acquire Garoppolo, and it might be in the 49ers’ best interest to wait as long as they can, especially as some of those quarterback-needy teams become more desperate.

Perhaps not too long, though, as some of those same teams may end up settling or even overreaching for one of the relatively uninspiring quarterback prospects in this year’s draft, thereby removing themselves from the Jimmy G sweepstakes.

Whatever the causes and truths behind the speculation, it’s not likely any of this is going to go away anytime soon.