All we’re hearing now is how the San Francisco 49ers mishandled their quarterback situation, outplayed their hand, and missed an opportunity to maximize the value of Jimmy Garoppolo.
After the 2020 season, the Nines made it clear that Jimmy was not in their long-term plans. It started in January when the team was linked with Matthew Stafford before their division rival Rams showed up and lashed out at Stafford. Every quarterback from Deshawn Watson to Sam Darnold has been linked with San Francisco.
It wasn’t until March 26 that the team gave up several first-round picks to trade for the 3rd overall pick to select the quarterback. Garoppolo’s exchange seemed inevitable. The team was created to win now. And while the 49ers have been successful whenever Garoppolo was healthy, it didn’t take an expert to know that Kyle Shanahan was in control of the offense.
Now, a year later, Jimmy’s trading market is in quicksand. Football analysis is subjective. You see what you want to see. There is one side that will point to Garoppolo’s win and loss count and push the numbers up in favor of the quarterback. There is another one that will point to the constant misses to open receivers and the overall low ceiling that comes from Jimmy being in the middle.
Of course, it’s not just about how well Garoppolo performed on the field. Injuries have been synonymous with Jimmy ever since he played in the NFL. He missed just two starts in 2021, but a lingering shoulder injury that should have been taken care of at the time is back to bite the team now as they try to move their signalman.
On Monday, Dianna Russini of ESPN mentioned that the Colts viewed Jimmy’s shoulder injury as a red flag as Garoppolo would not be able to spend this offseason with his new team.
So we have a 30-year-old quarterback with a consistent injury history that, when he actually plays, is mediocre. Then add in other quarterbacks that have become available this offseason, such as Watson, who the team had to account for, otherwise it is negligence on their part, Matt Ryan and Tom Brady, who is out for a month. There were few landing sites for Garoppolo.
Monday Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweeted that he doesn’t believe any team proposed to Jimmy. As we said last week, there is no way you can convince me that Washington and general manager Martin Mayhew, who previously worked at the San Francisco headquarters, did not pick up the phone and call John Lynch to make an offer for Garoppolo.
The best way to put what Maiocco said would be that the 49ers didn’t get the offer they liked. Garoppolo shouldn’t want to play for Washington, so it’s likely that he said no.
But you’re telling me that a team like the Browns, before they landed Watson and knew their time with Baker Mayfield was up, didn’t call the Niners and make an offer? I won’t buy it. And Cleveland is an example. In a league where teams crave a competent quarterback, someone gave Lynch the ring and proposed.
Football is fluid. A year ago, and maybe even a month ago, the 49ers front office felt they could get two second-round picks for Garoppolo. But after Matt Ryan was only traded for a third round player, Jimmy and Baker’s market was wiped out.
It will take terrible patience – most likely, next season, Cleveland or San Francisco will receive the desired compensation for each quarterback.
Nines can’t afford to wait. This is Trey Lance’s team. This off-season and at the training camp, he will receive all the representatives. The $25 million Garoppolo is carrying might not hurt the team to date – although Jadevon Clooney paired with Nick Boza would have been nice – but that money could go towards expanding Boza and Deebo Samuel this summer.
The argument for keeping Jimmy sounds hollow. The longer he stays in the squad, the worse it looks for the team. Why would Garoppolo restructure his contract? Do you want Lance to have to look over his shoulder knowing that most of the locker room is backing Jimmy G? Having both quarterbacks on the roster inevitably leads to chaos.
Stubbornness. It’s a word I keep coming back to when discussing the Nines and how they handled that quarterback fiasco in the last year or so. Even without a starting option, we have seen other teams walk away from their quarterback without any problems.
It didn’t happen in San Francisco, so they missed their window to maximize their return on Garoppolo. Sure, they could get lucky and have a desperate team enter the equation, but that’s unlikely.
When the best case scenario is no longer considered and Jimmy G is more likely to be released than sold for the price you thought he was worth, it’s safe to say the 49ers missed their window to move Garoppolo.