49ers must add more to Jimmy Garoppolo trade package

The 49ers don’t appear to be garnering much interest in a Jimmy Garoppolo trade, but tacking some assets onto a deal for him would sure help.

On one side, the San Francisco 49ers are still lucking out with the fact the 2022 offseason quarterback market isn’t a good one. With essentially no franchise-type quarterbacks available in free agency and a lackluster NFL Draft class, the only means by which a quarterback-needy team can acquire a quality starter would be through a trade.

And if the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson end up staying put, it’s looking as if the next best option would be the Niners’ own, Jimmy Garoppolo.

Yet San Francisco apparently is not receiving as much interest for Jimmy G as it originally thought, likely in spite of the comments recently made by general manager John Lynch, saying plenty of “teams have interest.”

Maybe. But that interest might only be for a low-end return.

The 49ers may have wanted a first- or even a second-round pick in exchange for Garoppolo, especially amid a bad market. Yet other teams aren’t dumb. They know what Niners fans know: Garoppolo is a 30-year-old oft-injured signal-caller who is limited in his capabilities, one who’ll require offseason shoulder surgery that could cut into his time to be ready when late-spring workouts begin.

As such, San Francisco can probably cross off a straight-up Garoppolo trade for a second- or maybe even a third-round pick from the wish list.

Instead, Lynch and Co. might have to get a little more creative with their trade package.

49ers must combine assets with Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade

The 49ers can still hope to receive a high-end draft pick by the way of a trade, but it probably won’t come by the way of sending Garoppolo off outright.

Instead, he’ll have to be a part of a package deal, which is something our friend Jose Sanchez of Sports Illustrated pointed out:

"That means they’ll either have to throw in a draft pick, like one of their many mid-round picks, or throw in a player. This is what it’ll take for the 49ers to receive a third-round pick or higher for Garoppolo. And from a bird’s eye view, it’s still a good deal for the 49ers.Remember, it isn’t just the draft capital or whatever sweet they can get in return for Garoppolo. It is the salary cap space they will gain from kicking Garoppolo’s contract off the books. And with free agency just about two weeks away, they are going to need to act fast."

Read More: 5 teams that may balk at trading for Jimmy Garoppolo

The Niners are projected to have nine picks in this year’s draft, including two third-round selections, one of them a compensatory pick from former offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel being named the Miami Dolphins’ head coach.

Six of those picks are on day three. And while Lynch might prefer to use one of those as part of a Garoppolo trade package to get, let’s say, a second-round selection, it might take one of those two third-rounders to get a higher-end Round 2 pick.

Or, perhaps, a player thrown in to sweeten the deal.

If that’s what it’ll take to trade Jimmy G, San Francisco shouldn’t hesitate whatsoever.