Jimmy Garoppolo: 3 draft-day trades potentially involving 49ers QB
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers missed out on their first opportunity to trade Jimmy Garoppolo at the start of the league new year, but the 2022 NFL Draft could present another chance to do so.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have to feel at least a bit frustrated they weren’t able to engineer a trade for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo ahead of the 2022 league new year on March 16.
According to Lynch, there were talks with other teams. Yet no actual offer for the Niners’ veteran signal-caller materialized. And as the swarm of quarterbacking dominos began to fall across the rest of the NFL, many teams turning to other plans, San Francisco was effectively stuck with Garoppolo.
For the time being.
Sure, there’s a notion the 49ers will hold onto Jimmy G (and his near-$27 million salary) for the entirety of 2022 despite the need to foster second-year pro quarterback Trey Lance‘s maturation process.
That’s probably folly, though.
Nevertheless, and in spite of the fact few teams would want to issue top returns for a 30-year-old middle-of-the-road and oft-injured quarterback, the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft does present an opportunity for the Niners to try again.
This year’s quarterbacking class isn’t overly talented or deep, yet a number of teams could potentially seek quarterback help, assuming they’re in a position to land one.
If not, however, San Francisco might consider using Garoppolo as part of a draft-day trade package. He might not get a top pick in return outright, but moving Garoppolo on the day of the draft could potentially assist Lynch and Co. with any draft-day maneuvering.
Here are three scenarios in which that could take place.