NFL Rumors: 3 teams who could make trade for Matt Ryan

He was clearly not operating at 100 percent coming off an ankle injury, but Jimmy Garoppolo was so dreadful in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins that he was benched in a blowout loss. That has invited talk about his future in San Francisco, and more specifically if/when the 49ers could move on.

Garoppolo is under contract through 2022, with cap hits of $26.9 million for 2021 and $27 million. But, according to Over The Cap, if he were cut or traded before June 1 next year the 49ers would clear $24.1 million in cap space with $2.8 million in dead money. So moving on would not be hard to do, if Garoppolo continues to be an average quarterback who is paid like he’s something more.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, Ryan had the best season of his career (4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, 7 INT, 9.3 yards per attempt, 117.1 passer rating) and won league MVP.

The 49ers would need to clear some cap space, as most teams who’d even think about trading for Ryan would. But with a projected $15 million in space right now, moving on from Garoppolo would be the big (and easy, if the situation goes that direction) move to get it done. If Ryan has a say in picking his trade destination, San Francisco and a reunion with Shanahan might be it. And all things considered, Shanahan may want Ryan and he’ll tell GM John Lynch so.