Jimmy Garoppolo is officially on the clock.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter Wednesday, the 49ers quarterback and his agents, Don Yee and Carter Chow, have been granted permission to seek a trade. Schefter also reported that Garoppolo has been cleared for training camp, so we’ll have to wait and see if No. 10 is in camp in Santa Clara next week starting on Wednesday.
After months of uncertainty, we finally have a bit of clarity on the situation: the 49ers are all-in on Trey Lance.
Garoppolo has been a total team player throughout this process, which started in March 2021 when the 49ers used three first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up to No. 3 overall in the NFL Draft. That selection, of course, was used to land Lance, an unproven dual-threat quarterback with little college experience at FCS North Dakota State.
When the 49ers season ended last year in the NFC Championship, Garoppolo sounded like a man on his way out the door, as he shared an emotional goodbye with fans. Then he underwent shoulder surgery on March 8, which complicated his tradeability status.
The NFL experienced a high-profile game of musical chairs at quarterback this offseason, but Garoppolo had to stay put as he rehabbed his shoulder. Now that he’s healthy and regaining strength, Garoppolo only appears to have two possible suitors: the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns.
You have to think that Yee and Chow’s first two phone calls will go to those two franchises and that they’ll be keeping an eye on injury reports if Garoppolo is still on the Niners come training camp.
At this point, it’s hard to see Garoppolo returning to the 49ers at his $26.9 million price tag, though I wouldn’t completely shut the door on the possibility of him returning at a reduced price if he can’t find work elsewhere.
