4 Jimmy Garoppolo suitors after Baker Mayfield trade to Panthers

The Panthers officially ended any flirting with Jimmy Garoppolo by trading for Baker Mayfield on Wednesday, but Jimmy G could still have some suitors.

On the surface, it sure seems like the San Francisco 49ers’ hopes of trading quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo took a massive blow in the wake of news the Carolina Panthers were trading for disgruntled Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

That’s the dominant storyline from an otherwise quiet NFL offseason, news breaking on Wednesday from multiple outlets how Carolina was acquiring an upgrade over incumbent Sam Darnold in Mayfield, who was on the outs in Cleveland following the Browns’ earlier trade pickup of quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Quite the offseason quarterback carousel, right?

Yes, one can officially cross off whatever dwindling hopes the Niners had to ship off Garoppolo to the Panthers now. That won’t happen, if it ever was in the cards anyway.

However, with Mayfield on the move, one could make the argument that Garoppolo is now the last best starting-caliber option available on the trade block. San Francisco no longer has to contend with other teams choosing between Mayfield and Jimmy G.

Granted, the trade market between now and Week 1 might be less than stellar. But these four teams could still possibly be interested in acquiring Garoppolo in the wake of Mayfield’s trade to Carolina.

Jimmy Garoppolo trade suitor No. 4: Cleveland Browns

Just before news broke of Mayfield going to the Panthers, we ran a speculative piece on three trades the 49ers could still engineer to move Garoppolo.

One of them was the Browns.

While a straight-up Garoppolo-for-Mayfield trade is now officially off the table, there’s still a remote chance Cleveland would entertain dealing with the Niners for their quarterback.

Watson, still facing allegations of sexual misconduct, could potentially face a yearlong suspension, which would leave the Browns with few other options other than starting the presumed backup, Jacoby Brissett.

Nothing against Brissett, but it’s feasible Cleveland could look at Garoppolo as a far more polished option with plenty of playoff experience for a playoff-ready Browns team.

Cleveland already had more cap space than any other team in the NFL this offseason, Over the Cap giving them almost $41 million before Mayfield was moved, so it can absorb Garoppolo’s $25.5 million post-trade salary with ease.

Just don’t expect San Francisco to get much in the way of compensation in return, though.