Maybe there's a way out of Santa Clara for Jimmy G after all.
When the Carolina Panthers acquired Baker Mayfield via trade last week, another possible trade destination for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo dried up. But according to Garoppolo's agent Don Yee, the sense around the NFL is that Garoppolo will be traded by the end of the month.
NFL Media's Tom Pelissero sent out a couple of tweets about a conversation he had with Yee, who refuted a recent report that linked Garoppolo to Tampa Bay and gave a possible timeline for a trade.
So, according to Yee and Pelissero, Garoppolo's surgically-repaired right shoulder is recovering well. It's unclear if he has been able to start throwing yet, but it sounds like there's still interest within the league.
It looks like I may have overreacted a bit when I suggested that the 49ers release Garoppolo and save the salary cap hit, as the 49ers can shave $25.5 million off their payroll by cutting him. Even if the 49ers don't get a huge return for Garoppolo – the Browns got a fifth-rounder and had to ship $10.5 million to the Panthers to make the deal happen – that's better than cutting Jimmy G and ending up empty-handed.
Yee also contradicted a report from independent NFL media reporter Dan Sileo, who said Yee was in talks with the Bucs about the possibility of bringing Garoppolo as the heir apparent to Tom Brady (again).
For now, it appears there are two logical destinations for Garoppolo: the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns.
The Seahawks are in rebuild mode after trading away Russell Wilson this past offseason and could be in the market for an upgrade over Drew Lock. The Browns, meanwhile, are bracing for the possibility that the NFL could hand down a lengthy suspension to Deshaun Watson after dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct.
So the waiting game continues. While we might have expected clarity on Garoppolo's situation four months ago before free agency, his March 8 shoulder surgery has put this on a completely new timeline. Stay tuned, as the 49ers open training camp on July 26.
