5 teams that could land Jimmy Garoppolo after Russell Wilson trade
By Peter Panacy
Jimmy Garoppolo suitor No. 3: New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are in salary-cap hell, the inevitable consequence of trying to maintain a Super Bowl window over the last five-plus years by “kicking the can down the road” with all those player contract extensions and restructures.
As such, it’ll be awfully difficult for New Orleans to engineer a trade with the Niners for Jimmy Garoppolo, subsequently having to absorb his $25-plus million in post-trade salary.
Regardless, teams engineer crazy kinds of deals all the time to make moves like this happen. And it’s not out of pure speculation from us here at Niner Noise to prompt this idea.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (h/t 49ers Webzone) managed to get hold of a “wild” rumor that involved Garoppolo going to the Saints:
"The wildest rumor I heard this week? Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo potentially pairing with New Orleans. This would be a surprise since many around the league expect Jameis Winston to return to the Saints. But if Rodgers and Wilson aren’t moved, Garoppolo becomes one of the top options available. Maybe New Orleans at least kicks this idea around."
Well, Aaron Rodgers didn’t move, but Russell Wilson did. And the Saints were left as one of those other teams with relatively few options on the table.
Much like the AFC South, the NFC South is in a bit of a quarterbacking conundrum heading into 2022, which opens the door for the next team on this list.