Making the case for the 49ers to retain Jimmy G?
By: Jeremy Trottier
The San Francisco 49ers have been attempting to trade Jimmy Garoppolo since the beginning of the offseason this year. According to reports, the 49ers have received an offer of two second-round draft picks so far, but John Lynch would be looking for more. With this, we now have to ask the question, is there a case for SF to keep Jimmy G? While many may not agree with keeping Jimmy around for another year, it seems that this may need to be the case for the 49ers at the moment.
The first major barrier to trading Garoppolo at the moment is the teams that need QB at the moment. Many of these teams have been filled lately, including:
- Indianapolis Colts ”“ Matt Ryan
- Cleveland Browns ”“ Deshaun Watson (now trying to trade Baker Mayfield)
- New Orleans Saints ”“ Jameis Winston
- Seattle Seahawks ”“ Only relative unknown, draft pick/Drew Lock?
- Pittsburgh Steelers ”“ Mitchell Trubisky
- Washington Commanders ”“ Carson Wentz
- Atlanta Falcons ”“ Marcus Mariota &/or high draft pick QB
- Carolina Panthers ”“ Sam Darnold / high draft pick
While some of these teams could be looking to add quarterbacks on top of those they already have, it seems that will depend on the price range. The Browns will be looking to offload Baker pretty quickly as he wants out now, which means likely a lower price tag. This would draw teams to go for the 26-year-old Oklahoma prospect first rather than Garoppolo whose cost may be higher.
While we saw Patrick Mahomes sit behind Alex Smith for only one season before starting, Trey Lance may need more time to develop or at least start more than one game in a season. The 49ers could roll half the season with Jimmy G and the other half with Lance. This could also be an option if they feel Lance has a strong chance to start now, and then trade Jimmy near the trade deadline to a QB needy team. There will certainly be injuries, and players not performing up to expectations, so teams will need a QB then, as well. The 49ers may want to make Lance feel at home in the Bay Area, but the market is different and SF could still get both QBs involved in the near future.
