49ers didn’t decline two Round 2 picks for Jimmy Garoppolo, did they?

The 49ers reportedly had an offer on the table of two second-round draft picks for Jimmy Garoppolo, but John Lynch apparently wants more.

There will probably be a lot of explaining to do on the part of San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch if the Niners end up running out of a trade market for veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and are ultimately forced to release him outright for absolutely nothing in return.

Especially in light of news San Francisco apparently had an offer from an interested team willing to surrender two Round 2 NFL Draft picks for Jimmy G this offseason.

According to a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, that’s precisely what Lynch was offered recently this offseason:

"As we hear it, 49ers G.M. John Lynch is telling interested teams that he has an offer in hand of two second-round picks for Garoppolo, a player the team acquired in 2017 for one second-round pick. (At least one interested team reacted to the news, we’re told, by concluding that, if the 49ers have two first-round picks for Garoppolo, they should take it.)"

Well, um… if the Niners receive two first-round picks for Garoppolo, as that last sentence states, they surely would take the deal.

But the question is whether or not Lynch and Co. would accept two second-round picks instead. Given how much the trade market has cooled on Jimmy G since earlier reports of an imminent deal in place, one can fairly wonder how much stock to put into Florio’s report.

It is the offseason, after all, and teams do release plenty of smoke.

However, if Lynch is either delaying or balking at the offer of two second-round picks, that could be problematic.

Jimmy Garoppolo probably won’t net 49ers more than reported offer

On the other hand of Florio’s report, there was no actual news suggesting Lynch turned down the offer in anticipation of more. It could merely be a case of Lynch, should the report be true, doing his due diligence and asking around the crop of interested teams whether or not they can match said offer or beat it.

If not, perhaps that’s the moment when San Francisco signs off on the trade.

However, if Lynch is indeed looking for a bigger package deal, it might be tough to come by. The Cleveland Browns are still actively looking to trade quarterback Baker Mayfield after sending a blockbuster package to the Houston Texans for fellow QB Deshaun Watson, and other teams in need of a signal-caller could go the cheaper free-agent route and sign names like Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston.

Perhaps those alternatives are more attractive than trading for a 30-year-old Garoppolo who is coming off shoulder surgery and won’t be ready to start throwing again until just before training camp.

Again, if Florio’s report is true, Lynch wouldn’t be wrong in exploring whether or not he can get a better offer.

Yet he shouldn’t take too much time in making that assessment. Don’t risk losing out on a decent trade altogether.