Why these 4 teams won’t trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

Why Seahawks won’t trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

Wouldn’t this be something, a trade between two NFC West rivals?

Those deals aren’t likely, but they’ve happened before. And in the case of San Francisco trading with the Seattle Seahawks, there’s logic to it.

The post-Russell Wilson era Hawks are poised to start either Drew Lock or Geno Smith under center in 2022, and that’s a prime reason why it’s not hard to find Seattle towards the very bottom of league power rankings heading into the season. In the wake of further reports from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, suggesting the Seahawks “have discussed the possibility of Garoppolo playing for them,” it’s not hard to see why this is on the table.

Yes, the 49ers would be wise to try and get something out of the Hawks via trade instead of having an NFC West rival simply pluck him up off the free-agent scrap heap if released.

But with only $16.4 million in available cap space ($19.4 million if Smith is released), why would Seattle want to both spend more in money and give up draft assets to acquire Jimmy G?

No, the Seahawks would probably want to either pass completely on a trade, especially considering it’d be likely just a one-year rental, or simply play the long game and force the Niners’ hand.

The latter outcomes certainly are more plausible than engineering a trade with San Francisco.