Jimmy Garoppolo: 3 creative trades 49ers could still engineer before Week 1

Jimmy Garoppolo trade No. 1: Deal with the Seahawks?

On the surface, this trade seems like the craziest thing the Niners could do.

Inter-divisional trades are awfully rare, and the last thing either San Francisco or the Seattle Seahawks would want to do is somehow benefit each other, in this case, the 49ers getting draft compensation back while the Hawks find an immediate upgrade over their current quarterbacking options, Geno Smith and Drew Lock.

However, sending Jimmy Garoppolo up north to Seattle does carry some merit.

With a shade over $16 million in cap space, absorbing Garoppolo’s contract would be a bit tricky from the Seahawks’ vantage point, but moving on from Smith helps free up $3 million already. And if we’re to assume a team like the Hawks would instantly move to sign Garoppolo if the Niners released him outright, John Lynch might as well look to get something from this NFC West rival somehow.

How about two mid-round draft picks?

Read More: Why trading Jimmy Garoppolo to Seahawks actually makes sense

From Seattle’s standpoint, Garoppolo is an immediate upgrade over Smith and Lock but not a long-term one. And while San Francisco doesn’t want to help the Seahawks improve their roster entering 2022, a would-be Garoppolo addition likely isn’t going to move the Hawks’ proverbial needle too far into the range of a playoff contender.

Would we consider this trade likely? Absolutely not.

But as far as creativity goes, it’s not the worst thing the 49ers could do.