With Russell Wilson going to the Broncos, the 49ers may look to move Jimmy Garoppolo in the very near future, and these teams may be interested now.
The San Francisco 49ers have to be absolutely ecstatic with the news of the Seattle Seahawks engineering a blockbuster trade with the Denver Broncos that’ll send multiple-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson off to the AFC West.
Wilson has long owned the Niners, yes, posting a career 17-4 record against San Francisco.
Yet there’s another reason why the 49ers can be overjoyed with Wilson heading off to Denver.
It opens up the door for them to finally trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
In correlation with the other massive news item from this week, the Green Bay Packers signing quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a new four-year deal, the biggest two quarterbacking dominos have since fallen, and there are relatively few remaining starting-caliber options under center despite a significant number of teams out there in need of quality signal-callers.
Early on, it appeared as if the Niners’ trade efforts of Garoppolo were awfully quiet. But with Rodgers locked up and Wilson on his way to Denver, San Francisco should have a much easier time moving Garoppolo now.
And these five teams may now be in on the hunt in a much bigger way.
Jimmy Garoppolo suitor No. 5: Indianapolis Colts
Editor’s update: The Indianapolis Colts are reportedly trading quarterback Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, altering Indy’s needs but likely negating those of Washington.
It might be reasonable to cross off a number of AFC teams as potential trade partners with the 49ers for Jimmy G, as that conference is now even more loaded with top-performing quarterbacks. Particularly the AFC West, which now has Wilson in tow along with the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
Yet the AFC South is still lackluster when it comes to quality quarterbacks, and the Tennessee Titans’ Ryan Tannehill isn’t exactly a top-tier performer.
The Indianapolis Colts haven’t so quietly admitted their frustrations with last year’s pickup, Carson Wentz, and it wouldn’t be shocking whatsoever to see them move on from him this offseason. The Colts do have a playoff-caliber roster on both sides of the ball, and the AFC South remains an open division.
Someone like Garoppolo could, at the very least, help get Indy back into the playoff picture where, essentially, anything can happen. While the Colts wouldn’t be favored to knock off a Chiefs team or even the Buffalo Bills with quarterback Josh Allen in a postseason bout, they’d at least have a much more favorable shot at getting there than they would with Wentz.
Jimmy Garoppolo suitor No. 4: Houston Texans
Jimmy Garoppolo might end up being pissed off at the Niners if they end up shipping him off to the rebuilding and underachieving Houston Texans. But after Garoppolo opted for offseason shoulder surgery over a month after San Francisco was eliminated from the playoffs, potentially tanking his offseason value, it might be a bit of payback from the 49ers’ vantage point.
Regardless, Texans general manager Nick Caserio does have a relationship with Garoppolo from their days together with the New England Patriots. That’s something to consider, too.
And Houston merely has to get relevant again. The AFC South is still terrible despite what the Colts and Titans are doing.
There’s another caveat in the mix here, though. Quarterback Deshaun Watson, still a Texan, could potentially be another big-time domino to fall this offseason, although his off-field legal situation amid sexual-misconduct charges remains unresolved.
It’s pure speculation. But what if the Seahawks elect to trade for Watson anyway, using the bulk of picks acquired from the Broncos as part of a package deal?
That would surely shake things up even more.
Either way, Houston is in need of a quarterback, anyone with any kind of relevancy, and Garoppolo could now fit the bill.
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.
Jimmy Garoppolo suitor No. 2: Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are another one of those NFC South teams in dire need of a quarterback. They tried making a “blockbuster” move a year ago, trading for New York Jets flameout signal-caller Sam Darnold with the hopes of resurrecting his otherwise flat career. And when that didn’t work, the Panthers tried bringing an old friend back, Cam Newton, yet that didn’t work out either.
All this, and more, led to head coach Matt Rhule squarely landing on the hot seat entering 2022. And if he doesn’t figure out some stability under center, it’ll likely be his last season in Carolina.
Yes, there are plenty of reasons why the Panthers should balk at the idea of making another trade for a middle-of-the-road quarterback like Jimmy Garoppolo. At the same time, though, Garoppolo would be a vastly better option than anything they’ve had over the last few years since Newton was in his heyday.
Rhule still have a pedigree of rebuilding downtrodden franchises, and it might be forgivable for him to have suffered such a downtrodden 2021 campaign, ultimately leading to Carolina’s disappointing 5-12 finish.
A weak division, combined with the idea of upgrading under center with Garoppolo, should help the Panthers get back into a position where they can compete for a division title.
That’d be a win for Rhule in contrast to what happened last year.
Jimmy Garoppolo suitor No. 1: Washington Commanders
Editor’s update: With Washington acquiring Carson Wentz, the likelihood of Jimmy Garoppolo being traded there all but disappears.
Washington Commander head coach Ron Rivera previously stated he’d prefer a veteran quarterback over any of the relatively pedestrian-looking prospects coming out in this year’s NFL Draft.
On top of that, the Commanders were also reportedly hot on the Russell Wilson sweepstakes, offering up a significant return package but only rebuffed by the fact the Seahawks wanted to trade Wilson out of the conference:
Washington offered high picks in the next three drafts to the Seahawks for QB Russell Wilson, per sources. But it became apparent to the Commanders that Seattle preferred to trade him out of the NFC.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 8, 2022
So Washington's QB hunt continues.
Of all the teams on this list, Washington could end up being the most desperate. And it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea for the Commanders to act aggressively enough in a deal for Jimmy Garoppolo.
For starters, Washington has both a strong defense along with solid still players on the offensive side of the ball. That’ll help someone like Garoppolo succeed.
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Additionally, the NFC East is another weak division, the only legitimate threats being a downward-trending Dallas Cowboys squad that should regress in 2022 and, to a lesser extent, a so-so Philadelphia Eagles squad.
Washington could easily surpass the Eagles with Garoppolo in tow, and it’d likely be potent enough to handle quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, too.
Certainly way more than it was with quarterback Tyler Heinicke a year ago.