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Cowboys fans manifesting Jimmy Garoppolo trade with 49ers are delusional

By Jerry Trotta

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 16: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers scrambles against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 16: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers scrambles against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
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The San Francisco 49ers’ last-minute decision to bring Jimmy Garoppolo back looks smart following their Week 1 loss to the Bears.

To his credit, Garoppolo has handled the situation like a total pro. He understands this is Trey Lance’s team and he’s happy (or so it seems) to play out the final year of his contract as a backup before pursuing greener pastures next offseason.

It seems like the 49ers are willing to let Lance work through his growing pains in his first year as the starter. We believe Lance will ultimately prove to be a star, but it certainly doesn’t hurt having Garoppolo around as insurance in case last year’s No. 3 overall pick struggles to generate consistent offense.

Is Garoppolo willing to sit around and wait for that chance? Or would he potentially jump at the opportunity to become a starter elsewhere?

That remains to be seen, but rumors are swirling after Cowboys starter Dak Prescott underwent surgery to repair a thumb injury and faces 6-8 weeks on the sidelines.

Before Jerry Jones could even disclose the extent of Prescott’s injury Sunday night, Cowboys fans were envisioning Garoppolo in a Dallas jersey.

Cowboys fans already manifesting a Jimmy Garoppolo trade with the 49ers after Dak Prescott’s thumb surgery.

This trade seems highly unlikely for multiple reasons.

For starters, Garoppolo is the best backup QB in the league and the 49ers have an unproven second-year QB running their offense right now. As previously mentioned, San Francisco dropped their opening fixture to the Bears; a game they were expected to win in pretty comfortable fashion.

That’s not to say the 49ers lost because of Lance. It’s tough to overcome 12 penalties for 99 yards in a monsoon. For context, the Bears committed just three penalties for 24 yards and won the turnover battle two to one.

Still, nobody would argue Lance is going to need some mentoring. Now on a reasonable contract, Garoppolo represents a valuable insurance policy. It would make very little sense for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan to offload the veteran now.

Secondly, Garoppolo would have to approve the Cowboys as a trade destination. His restructured contract includes a no-trade clause and Dallas’ offense was as anemic as any offense in the league Sunday.

Their receiving corps is paper thin behind CeeDee Lamb, who didn’t look the part of a WR1 against the Bucs, and their offensive line is headed for serious regression with left tackle Tyron Smith likely out for the year, Connor Williams now in Miami, Connor McGovern out 4-6 weeks with a high-ankle sprain and right tackle La’el Collins now in Cincinnati. That regression was on full-display Sunday night.

Why would Garoppolo want any part of that?

Unless the Cowboys make a grandfather offer, the 49ers should hang up on Jerry Jones the second the phone rings.