49ers interest in Teddy Bridgewater proves what they think of Jimmy Garoppolo

The 49ers are trying to keep public faith in Jimmy Garoppolo, but a call about Teddy Bridgewater shows what they really think.

The San Francisco 49ers are trying to keep their faith in Jimmy Garoppolo known to the public, with general manager John Lynch recently saying there was “no doubt” Garoppolo will be the team’s starting quarterback next season. But the health caveat was clear though, as Garoppolo has missed at least 10 games in two of his three full seasons in San Francisco.

The 49ers were interested in Matthew Stafford before he was traded to the rival Los Angeles Rams, and the idea of them entering the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes is out there. Stafford would’ve been an upgrade over Garoppolo, and Watson obviously would be. There are others who would be upgrades, but at least two stretch the idea of availability. But recent interest in another  quarterback who seems to be available is telling.

The 49ers called about Teddy Bridgewater

According to Joe Person of The Athletic, the 49ers are among the teams who have called the Carolina Panthers about Teddy Bridgewater

The Panthers have put Bridgewater on notice, with head coach Matt Rhule saying he has to have a good offseason and owner David Tepper clearly eyeing an upgrade under center behind the scenes. It’s easy to praise Bridgewater’s intangibles, and his return to a starting job after a very serious knee  injury in 2016 is a great story. But the fact he remains he’s a mediocre talent, who will always be someone teams think (and know) they can upgrade on.

Looking at Bridgewater’s career numbers, he’s worse than Garoppolo in many categories. So he’s not an upgrade, and his cap hit (a little under $23 million) is not that much lower. The 49ers would take on $17.95 million (minus $5 million in prorated signing bonus) of that if they did trade for Bridgewater.

Making an offer for Stafford, Watson or even Kirk Cousins is one thing. But calling about Bridgewater is different, even if it didn’t go anywhere at this point. It also says it all about how the 49ers really feel about Garoppolo.