San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo admitted to reporters on Tuesday that he's expecting the organization to trade him in the near future, and hoping to have a legitimate say in which uniform he'll wear next season. The 31-year-old veteran also said that he wants to "go to a place where they want to win," and wrapped up the media session with a farewell message.
Although the 49ers have yet to reach a decision on Garoppolo -- on Tuesday, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan were reluctant to commit either way -- the writing has long been on the wall. San Francisco mortgaged its future last spring to draft highly-touted youngster Trey Lance, the heir apparent to Garoppolo. So, the question is, what does the market look like for the incumbent?
"I'm on the 'defend Jimmy Garoppolo' bandwagon. And it's not as easy when he plays like he did in the fourth quarter the other day," Boston Globe senior NFL writer Ben Volin told The DA Show on Wednesday. "Not all his fault, but clearly didn't have a good performance. But this is still a guy who, whenever he's healthy, has gone to the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl. He's proven you can definitely win games with Garoppolo...
"I think there'll be teams lining up to trade for Garoppolo -- if only because it's also just a one-year commitment... I'm not expecting Aaron Rodgers to be available this offseason. Every arrow is pointing to him returning to Green Bay. So, that's a big name that's going to come off the market. There'll be Deshaun Watson, maybe Russell Wilson. But I think Garoppolo is going to be one of the bigger names. Yes, I do think teams are going to be lining up to trade for him."
Garoppolo's final pass with the 49ers was a desperation heave that resulted in an easy interception, as the team fell to the division rival Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game last Sunday. Playing with injuries to his throwing thumb and shoulder, he completed 16 of 30 passes for 232 yards with a pair of touchdowns and the one game-clinching turnover.
In five seasons as San Francisco's starter, Garoppolo compiled a 31–14 record, and racked up 11,162 passing yards with 66 touchdowns, 38 picks, and a 98.3 passer rating. According to Spotrac, Garoppolo's cap hit for the 2022 season is $26.9 million, and if the 49ers move on from him, they'd save $25.5 million with only $1.4 million in dead cap. Garoppolo can enter free agency in 2023.
The entire NFL conversation between Volin and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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