On Sunday afternoon, Carson Wentz will be behind center when his Washington Commanders host his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, while Jimmy Garoppolo gets his first start of 2022 for the San Francisco 49ers
Turns out, the latter was almost the former?
Indeed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 49ers and Commanders had, at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, agreed to the parameters of a deal that would have sent Jimmy G to DC, but it fell apart when Garoppolo decided to have shoulder surgery.
Per Schefter, the deal would have included multiple picks, but once Garoppolo had the surgery on his throwing shoulder that compromised his offseason, the Commanders instead dealt three picks to Indianapolis for Wentz.
Fortuitous for the Niners, who lost Trey Lance to a season-ending ankle injury last week and now will turn to Garoppolo to start the rest of the way. Perhaps fortuitous for the Commanders, who are 1-1 and now have a big storyline heading into their Week 3 clash with the division-rival Birds.
And, fortuitous for Atlanta and Indianapolis in a way, too, even though both are winless; Atlanta was able to continue to accelerate a rebuild by trading Matt Ryan to Indy for a third-round pick (used on TE Jelani Woods), signing Marcus Mariota to a two-year deal, and drafting Desmond Ridder from Cincinnati. Indy, meanwhile, got Ryan, two extra picks, saved some cap space compared to Wentz’s deal, and at least have a longer-term bridge to whomever their next franchise QB will be.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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