San Francisco 49ers plan might be to trade Jimmy Garoppolo in 2022
By Josh Hill
The San Francisco 49ers say there won’t be a Jimmy Garoppolo trade, and Ian Rapoport had a good reason why.
Any trade value that Jimmy Garoppolo might have had prior to Friday went out the window once the San Francisco 49ers traded away a haul to move up to the No. 3 pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
GameStop’s stock didn’t drop as hard as Garoppolo’s did.
Trading three first-round picks to move up telegraphed to the rest of the league that Jimmy G’s time in the Bay Area is almost up, and it also served as a total indictment. Nothing screams lack of trust than mortgaging the future to draft a guy’s replacement, but that doesn’t mean Garoppolo’s trade value can’t recover.
Maybe not to the moon, but at least partially.
NFL Rumors: 49ers eyeing Jimmy Garoppolo trade in 2022?
NFL insider Ian Rapoport noted that the 49ers are heading into the 2021 season with Garoppolo as the starter. As insane as that sounds given the trade San Francisco made, it makes sense as part of what might be grand master plan.
“My understanding is the 49ers have no plans to trade Jimmy Garoppolo this year,” Rapoport emphasized. “Perhaps next year if he goes out and kills it they can trade him after the season. That’s a possibility if they have their quarterback of the future.”
Garoppolo has trade value now, but having him go out next season and show that he’s improved on his flaws will mean an even bigger return for the 49ers.
Starting Garoppolo is the logical thing to do, even if it seemingly flies in the face of trading three first-round picks to draft his replacement. He’s under contract until 2023 and the Niners would save more money by moving on from in after 2021 rather than before. Keeping him also ensures a Patrick Mahomes-style situation where the future franchise quarterback sits an entire season and is able to fully assimilate Kyle Shanahan’s offense rather than be thrown directly into the fire.
His time in San Francisco is clearly almost over, as no matter how good Garoppolo plays in 2021 he’s not going to play Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or Mac Jones out of being the 49ers’ future. It’s not exactly like the Aaron Rodgers situation, but if Garoppolo turns in an MVP season then the 49ers will hold one of the most valuable trade chips we’ve seen in a while. If he plays mediocre his value won’t move much and even if he plays bad there will still be teams that will trade for him at a discount.
Not a bad strategy for John Lynch to roll the dice with.