The Niners are in the middle of a public relations tour of denial. Ever since San Francisco traded three first-round selections to move up to No. 3 overall in the NFL Draft, it’s been sending out votes of confidence for Jimmy G through NFL Insiders.
But with the draft still one month away, the reporting on Jimmy Garoppolo’s standing in San Francisco should be viewed as what it is: pure posturing.
The first anonymous endorsement of Garoppolo came Friday through Adam Schefter, a mere two minutes after he had reported the blockbuster deal itself. “49ers now square in the QB mix, but are holding on to Jimmy Garoppolo and have no plans to trade him, per sources,” Schefter tweeted.
Sixteen minutes later, Schefter shared another pro-Garoppolo nugget from an unnamed 49ers source: “Jimmy is here to stay. He's our guy this year.”
The Niners could keep Garoppolo, starting him in front of Mac Jones or Justin Fields before cutting him loose in 2022, when his dead cap hit would fall from $2.8 million to $1.4 million.
But that ignores the fact Garoppolo is owed $24.1 million this season, despite missing 16 games over the last three years, and eating up more than $83 million in cap space.
It’s no longer customary for NFL teams to sit their prized young quarterbacks behind costly veterans. They often play instantly, and enjoy immediate success. Over the last two years, seven of the eighth quarterbacks selected in the first-round of the NFL Draft started during their rookie seasons.
Clearly, the 49ers value one quarterback enough to surrender two future first-round picks for the privilege of moving up nine spots. Trading Garoppolo could replenish some of their last draft capital, while freeing up almost $24 million in cap dollars.
It makes too much sense for the Niners to not shop Garoppolo, but they can’t admit that. In addition to deflating Garoppolo’s value, public admissions of his availability could destroy his relationship with the organization. It’s always possible that a trade could fall through.
To protect themselves, the Niners will probably spend the rest of the month denying any intention to trade Garoppolo. It was notable Monday when NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote the Niners don’t plan to deal Garoppolo “as of today.”
That wording harkens back to John Lynch saying he “really believes” Garoppolo will be the 49ers’ starting QB on Week 1.
While Schefter and King, two of the most accomplished NFL reporters ever, carefully word all of their reports, the same can’t be said for the glut of lesser-NFL Insiders who clog our social media feeds daily. The co-host of CJ McCollum’s podcast tweeted the Patriots are not pursuing Garoppolo, because the “cap space isn’t there” and “obviously Cam Newton will return,” per “sources.”
Those sources almost certainly aren’t anywhere near Bill Belichick.
It’s likely the Garoppolo speculation will turn at one point, because teams will possess incentives to publicize their motives. The pre-NFL Draft chess match is always played out through the media.
This year, the Patriots and Garoppolo are at the center of it. Proceed with skepticism.