For all the smoke around Jimmy Garoppolo, it’s worth remembering that he is under contract with the 49ers and they aren’t necessarily obligated to trade him.
Sure, the writing is on the wall. San Francisco used the third overall pick in the 2021 draft on Trey Lance, which is not a move you make if you’re committed to your current quarterback long-term.
But Lance long has been considered raw, and while there was some promise in the limited NFL action he did get last season, there’s also reason to be skeptical of him truly being ready to start next season.
It makes sense, then, that the Niners would want a legitimate option at quarterback in addition to Lance and, frankly, Garoppolo fits that mold perfectly.
To that end, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio on Wednesday’s “Rich Eisen Show” said that he’s not certain Garoppolo is moved this offseason.
"At one point last year, Jed York, the owner of the team, in an interview with Matt Mayoko of NBC Sports Bay Area said, and I’m paraphrasing here, but basically if we keep Jimmy G for two more years and make a $50 million investment in allowing Trey Lance to develop, then so be it. So a lot of this traces back to the 49ers trying to set expectations a certain way, and maybe they have.
"And I’m not 100 percent convinced that Jimmy G even moves on. I think he will, I think there will be a market, a trade market for him, once we find out what happens with Deshaun Watson."
Indeed, the Watson domino is a big one that needs to fall before much action gets done elsewhere on the NFL quarterback market. There might be a chasm between Watson and Garoppolo’s respective talent levels, but the 49ers quarterback is more or less the next-best option said to be available after Watson.
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