These 3 teams must trade for Jimmy Garoppolo right away

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Jimmy Garoppolo, Mason Rudolph, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers with Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /

Steelers should trade with 49ers for Jimmy Garoppolo

San Francisco would love to see a bidding war emerge for Jimmy Garoppolo, and one particular way to do it is by having two divisional rivals seeking the same player to solve similar needs.

As for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they aren’t worried so much about player suspensions as the Browns are, but Pittsburgh is watching as all three of its quarterbacks in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era are floundering in training camp.

Mitchell Trubisky, the former No. 2 overall draft pick from 2017, hasn’t looked good. And the Steelers’ first-round rookie from this year, Kenny Pickett, has looked more like an overwhelmed first-year pro than anything else.

That’s effectively left the holdover, Mason Rudolph, as head coach Mike Tomlin’s best option.

The thought of the 49ers engaging in trade talks with Pittsburgh for Garoppolo isn’t anything new, but consider this recent twist from Andrew Kersten of Steeler Nation:

"Since the 49ers are clear they want to part ways with Garoppolo, the asking price likely won’t be high. With already a loaded quarterback room in Pittsburgh, this opens the door for the Steelers to trade someone along the likes of Mason Rudolph along with a late-round pick so Garoppolo could slide into Rudolph’s spot. That is an instant upgrade. So far, in Rudolph’s three-year career, he’s played second fiddle to Ben Roethlisberger and has only amassed 2,366 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, and a QBR of 80.9. Compare that to Garoppolo’s career and it’s not even close – 11,162 passing yards, 71 touchdowns and a QBR of 98.9."

Now, Kersten pointed out how the Steelers would be challenged to absorb Garoppolo’s salary for 2022 with just over $14 million in cap space, and who knows if the Niners would be interested in taking Rudolph in the return exchange. If they did it to merely move Garoppolo, it’d help Pittsburgh’s cap situation by $3 million.

Either way, if the Steelers are looking solely at Trubisky or Rudolph at the helm, an embarrassing fourth-place finish in the AFC North (even behind the Browns) could seriously be in play.