The 49ers may not have a hot market for Jimmy Garoppolo, but John Lynch told reporters otherwise despite news of the QB needing offseason surgery.
There’s been no shortage of up-and-down news surrounding what the San Francisco 49ers’ plans are with regards to trading quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason.
Amid a bad market for teams needing a quarterback, the initial speculation was Garoppolo could command a significant return, being only one of a handful of starting-caliber signal-callers readily available for a deal.
In recent days, however, news and speculation has come out suggesting the market is a lot cooler than what the Niners originally would have hoped for.
Not great. But then to add onto San Francisco’s struggles to come up an arranged deal, which can’t be made official until the start of the league’s new year on March 16, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Garoppolo would require offseason shoulder surgery, stemming from an injury suffered during the 49ers’ Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys:
49ers’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to soon undergo shoulder surgery that would sideline him until this summer, sources tell ESPN. It is not expected to impact his trade status and Garoppolo still is likely to be traded this month, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 1, 2022
While Schefter pointed out the plan is for Garoppolo “to be traded this month” still, the surgery news isn’t necessarily great, especially if it impacts Garoppolo’s ability to participate in offseason programs with whatever team that trades for him.
49ers GM John Lynch still says there’s a trade market for Jimmy Garoppolo
It’s important to note teams will always try to sell high and drive up the market on players they’re looking to trade during the offseason, so one might have to take general manager John Lynch’s comments at face value.
Lynch joined NFL Network’s Good Morning Football from the NFL Scouting Combine, talking with Peter Schrager about Garoppolo’s injury and discussing whether or not his surgery would have an impact on a trade market:
.@49ers GM John Lynch on the future of Jimmy G and the progress he's seen from Trey Lance.
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 2, 2022
"He's everything we thought he was when we traded a lot to go get him." pic.twitter.com/w5Sf0MzJLd
“I think he’s made a decision here in the last couple of days,” Lynch said of Garoppolo. “He had an injury in that Dallas game. He was dealing with a couple of things—his thumb, which, my goodness, my admiration, an avulsion fracture.”
But the thumb won’t require surgery. It’ll be Garoppolo’s shoulder, yet Lynch responded by saying, “he’s going to be fine.”
Read More: Every team that ‘could’ trade for Jimmy Garoppolo in 2022
Of course, there’s going to be a worry whether or not this might impact Garoppolo’s trade market. However, Lynch still seems adamant there will be plenty of teams willing to offer up a deal for the quarterback this offseason.
“A lot of teams have interest in him,” Lynch added.
Again, it could be a situation where Lynch is speaking facts and there may be teams willing to trade for Garoppolo, even if the offers aren’t particularly great. Or it could also be a situation where the market is indeed cold, and Lynch is playing up the market to drive more potential interest.
If one thing is clear, the storyline won’t be going away anytime soon.