4 Jimmy Garoppolo suitors after Baker Mayfield trade to Panthers

Jimmy Garoppolo trade suitor No. 3: New England Patriots

It sounds crazy, and there’s certainly a strong argument why New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would never pull the trigger on reuniting with Jimmy Garoppolo via trade. But there’s actually a scenario in which the 49ers and Pats doing a revert on the 2017 deal that originally sent the quarterback out west.

Albeit, this one would be far less of the high-profile variety.

New England isn’t going to shirk away from continuing to develop second-year quarterback Mac Jones. That’s not the argument here. But Jones’ primary backups heading into 2022 consist of Brian Hoyer and Bailey Zappe, neither of whom should be considered as inspiring if Jones is lost for any length of time.

Without diving too deep into the apparent affinity Belichick had/has for Garoppolo, a major obstacle would be the Patriots boasting just $1.9 million in cap space, currently, meaning any trade would either have to stem from the Niners agreeing to pay a large chunk of Jimmy G’s salary, as the Browns are doing with Baker Mayfield, or Garoppolo taking a substantial pay cut upon his arrival in New England.

Again, the trade compensation might be minimal, and San Francisco might prefer to cut Garoppolo outright and save $25-plus million over getting a late-round NFL Draft pick in return.

But, if the 49ers want to send Garoppolo to a decent situation, this could certainly be in play.