After trading for the 3rd overall pick with the obvious intention of taking a quarterback, the 49ers have sent the signal to Jimmy Garoppolo that he isn’t the answer. They will move on.
The thing that is not known is when they’ll move on. The 49ers public stance is that they intend on keep Garoppolo in 2021 and then transition to the guy they draft this year in 2022. It could be true or it could be a bluff and posturing. Who knows. The question is whether or not this would be a good move. Let’s examine.
From a financial standpoint, it’s neutral. They would save $24M this year and $25M for next year by trading him and only incur a dead cap hit of $2.8M. While it is significant savings, the 49ers aren’t in a cap crunch and free agency is basically over so no big signings are coming. They have way more than enough cap room to operate and seem to have also budgeted with the intention of having Jimmy Garoppolo and the rookie around. They signed some backloaded deals that right now appear they didn’t need make as much that way. Next year, the cap is projected to go way up and moving on from Jimmy G would save them $25M with an only $1.4M cap charge. It’s one of the best pay-as-you-go contracts in the league at the moment. They can move off him any time with very little penalty. No rush to do so.
The part where it could get tricky is within the situation itself. The 49ers clearly just told Jimmy he’s not it but they might still want him to stay and contribute. It’s a weird spot. Though I’m actually not as concerned about it as I was initially.There are reasons for this.
One being that I trust that Lynch and Shanahan have had some good conversations with him throughout this to defuse the situation. I also think this could light a fire under Garoppolo. He’s pretty much auditioning for his next team if he stays on the 49ers in 2021. He’ll show up and want to play well. This would be similar to how Rodgers acted when Love was drafted. He just said “okay I’ll show you.” The 49ers brass knows Jimmy personally and they probably have a key into how they think he’d react to this. If they expect he’ll be a total jerk and cause issues, they’ll trade him. I don’t think they expect that. The 49ers are pretty close-knit and honest with each other. I think that culture that has been built really helps here. It’s not like the Eagles where they just blind-sighted Wentz by selecting Hurts and made him mad. Garoppolo got notice before the trade was even reported and they’ve always gone to him to be honest about the fact they are considering other QBs. It’s been a very transparent process.
I also don’t expect Jimmy Garoppolo will treat the rookie badly. Rodgers didn’t treat Love badly despite his feelings. Garoppolo also played a similar role this rookie will for the Patriots when he was under Brady. Jimmy Garoppolo will understand what that rookie is going through and that it’s not personal. It’s been rumored that Brady wanted nothing to do with Garoppolo. I think Garoppolo would want to treat the rookie better than he was treated as a young player. I actually think Garoppolo could be a valuable asset to the transition process.
I am actually thinking the 49ers will keep Garoppolo unless they are offered a deal they can’t refuse (a 1st round pick). If they get that deal, they’ll do it and find a different veteran QB to ease the transition process. They won’t go in with just the rookie and Rosen that is for certain. But if they don’t, I think they’ll just keep Garoppolo. They already budgeted for it. It appears to be the intent. They’ll hope he balls out and trade him for a 1st next year. If not, they’ll just cut him or trade him for whatever they can get. It’s a low-risk situation for the 49ers when you really think about it.
Their intent to keep Garoppolo also could key us in on what QBs they are looking into at pick 3. Justin Fields and Trey Lance are often seen as guys who could benefit from sitting a year. Shanahan’s offense is tough to grasp. For a rookie to do that and also acclimate to the NFL while they are also still seen as raw from a talent perspective lends itself to the thought they could sit for a year and just absorb everything while Garoppolo, who has been in the system three plus years, is their best option for winning right now. It’s a good way for them to hedge their bets on the present and future . It’s a little awkward in some ways, but I think it’s a pretty good plan overall. Probably the best one they can go with at the moment.
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