Why these 4 teams could trade for Jimmy Garoppolo (and why they didn’t)

While the trade market for Jimmy Garoppolo has dried up a lot, it’s not dead yet. So let’s look at teams still in the mix and why/why not they strike a deal.

Perhaps the San Francisco 49ers should have acted when the proverbial “iron was hot” on the market for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, accepting the best deal possible not long after news broke the Seattle Seahawks were sending quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.

This would have preceded the messy and drawn-out drama that surrounded former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson going back and forth on his trade preference, eventually settling on the Cleveland Browns, which in turn put Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield squarely on the trade block.

All the while, many of the other QB-needy teams around the league settled on their contingency options, the Pittsburgh Steelers with Mitchell Trubisky and the Washington Commanders with Carson Wentz, and so on.

Read More: Is Jimmy Garoppolo trade imminent after Baker Mayfield is dealt?

The Niners could easily be waiting for what happens with Mayfield now, perhaps the next domino before the quarterbacking market almost completely dries up with proven starters.

At the same time, though, San Francisco could see the dwindling list of suitors pull out of the Garoppolo sweepstakes, too.

Here are four teams in that running with reasons both why and why not they trade for Jimmy G.

Jimmy Garoppolo trade destination No. 4: Houston Texans

Sending Garoppolo off to the Texans might seem to be a cruel joke after the organizational dysfunction they’ve gone through seemingly for years now.

However, armed with three first-round NFL Draft picks, and more, Houston is set to fully engineer its rebuild under general manager Nick Caserio, someone who knows Garoppolo from their days together with the New England Patriots.

In a weak quarterback class in the NFL Draft, and no high-quality options available on the trade market, the Texans may look to act now on a move for Garoppolo to help spark the rebuild.

Why Texans trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

Houston can’t overlook how Garoppolo came over to the 49ers in 2017 and helped a dilapidated Niners roster win its final five games that year, including beating the Texans.

Garoppolo would bring a winning pedigree and playoff experience to a team that’s in desperate need of both, combined with some serious locker-room leadership.

Why Texans don’t trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

Caserio also seemed to fully endorse Houston’s 2021 rookie quarterback, Davis Mills, as the heir apparent to Watson.

Mills, a third-round pick in last year’s NFL Draft, was a late riser in draft circles and could easily be identified as the player to build a roster round, should Houston want to go that route.

Plus, with San Francisco’s still-existing affinity for Garoppolo, it might opt to simply send him to a team with a much better chance of winning in 2022 than the Texans.