Tuesday’s franchise deadline was overshadowed by a cascade of big NFL news, mostly about quarterbacks. First, Aaron Rodgers decided to stay in Green Bay for at least one more season, providing the Packers with clarity on the future and removing the most coveted veteran passer from the market. Shortly thereafter, the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Broncos for a package of two first-round picks, two cornermen, fifth and quarterback Drew Lock, defenseman Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant. In less than half an hour, two of the most famous quarterbacks rumored to be available have chosen their homes in 2022, two options removed from the circle of musical chairs that teams in need of quarterbacks should navigate this offseason.
The remaining options are rather limited.
Let’s be realistic: this is a bad option for quarterbacks. Kenny Pickett had one good season at Pitt, he’ll be 24 when he’s a rookie and comes up with questions about his fumble and hand size. Malik Willis has incredible physical prowess, but he had problems with accuracy at the Liberty, where he played a limited offense that is far from anything he would need to operate in the NFL. Desmond Ridder is a patchy player and one of the brightest prospects out there, but he’ll face a big jump in competition as he moves from Cincinnati to the NFL. Matt Corral had a few flopping games in college and played an RPO dependent offense at Ole Miss that will make a lot of pro teams think. Sam Howell has similar concerns after playing offensively in North Carolina with a high RPO; besides, he is short and takes too many bags. Judging quarterbacks is tricky, and there are probably a couple of passers in this group who are solid or even special. But this year’s prospects are vastly inferior to last year’s draft, when quarterbacks were drafted with the top three picks and five were in the top 15—no prospects this year are considered a credible first-day starter.
And let’s not sugarcoat it: this is a bad market for free agents and a market for seasoned quarterbacks! In fact, Rogers never entered the market, and Wilson has now retired, creating a need for a QB for the Seahawks while filling a need for the Broncos. Who is left? The Colts traded Carson Wentz to the Washingtons, who were willing to take on Wentz’s entire $28 million salary and forfeit two third-round picks, one of who can become a second round choice based on appearance incentives, just to get out of the gloomy market. Maybe — maybe — the Falcons will listen to Matt Ryan’s suggestions. Kirk Cousins remains in Minnesota under new head coach Kevin O’Connell, and his contract makes the move prohibitively expensive anyway. Same with Ryan Tannehill. Tom Brady has retired. Ben Roethlisberger too. The hype at the mill last week was that Ryan Fitzpatrick might soon follow him. The list of QB free agents is as follows: Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, Tyrod Taylor, Jameis Winston, Jacoby Brisset, Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater, Joe Flacco, Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henn, Gino Smith and Mitchell Trubisky. Oh, my.
This meager supply will be met by significant demand. The Panthers, Steelers, Saints, Colts, Buccaneers and Seahawks are all in dire need of a quarterback. The Eagles, Lions, Falcons, Colts, Texans and Giants need QB too, though their timelines make it a little easier to survive with incumbent starters and hope for better options next year. Washington reportedly offered Seattle three first-round picks for Wilson., reflecting his desperate need for a good quarterback, culminating in a trade for Wentz. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Trubisky could realistically make $10 million or more annually in a new deal this offseason. Everything is bleak in the QB market.
That is, with the exception of this off-season prom queen. The new year in the league starts next week, and the Player of the Hour has a $27 million cap, a sore shoulder, interception proneness, a 33-14 record, two NFC championship starts and the most chiseled jawline you can find. in a helmet on Sundays.
Like this. It’s time for Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo is the best of the rest. To understand this off-season quarterback market, all you need to know is that Garoppolo is the best bet to start a trade war between teams looking for their 2022 starter. This year, he looks the most like Matthew Stafford in the off-season (okay, maybe that tells you everything you need to know). It comes a year after the 49ers spent several first-round picks to move up and select rookie Trey Lance to replace Garoppolo. It’s not out of the question that San Francisco may decide to keep Garoppolo, who led the team to a Super Bowl appearance in just a few games last season, but neither 49ers management nor Garoppolo himself has been shy about admitting he’s probably on the move.
“It’s been a fun ride guys and I’m very grateful to you for that,” Garoppolo said at a Bay Area media press conference two days after the 49ers’ season ended with an NFC Championship game loss to the Rams. “And yes, I will miss you guys. So thank you guys again. Faith, thank you so much for everything. It’s been crazy, man, just all the Levi’s returns, back touring, ups and downs, it’s been a hell of a ride, guys. I love you, guys. So, see you.”
“A lot of people need or want quarterbacks right now, and he’s obviously the kind of guy they would look at,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said last week at the mill. So yes, we listened.
Garoppolo is hardly the perfect quarterback. He’s won a lot of games in San Francisco, but he’s prone to interceptions, especially in the middle of the field, and has a reputation for being a player supported by Kyle Shanahan’s offense and the rest of the 49ers’ roster, especially playmakers like Deebo Samuel. who could make the most of Garoppolo’s limited options and short passes. He has a long history of injuries, having only played a full season once in his career and has just had surgery on his shooting shoulder that is expected to keep him from shooting until the summer.
But consider the alternatives and Garoppolo is starting to look very, very good. Several league sources said at the reunion that San Francisco wants compensation equal to two second-round picks for Garoppolo. That would be double what the 49ers gave the Patriots for acquiring Garoppolo in 2017, and double what New England originally gave for Garoppolo in 2014. Two other league executives calculated that in a vacuum, Garoppolo’s value could be closer to one second. or a third-round pick, with interceptions and injuries being a major concern.
But the value of Garoppolo does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in a world that currently lacks decent, affordable quarterbacks, and in which Garoppolo is now the top choice for teams like the Carolinas, Pittsburgh, and more (I’d include Tampa Bay here if Garoppolo wasn’t so really bad choice). suitable for a heavy attack by Bruce Arians). Anyone familiar with basic economic theory knows what happens when demand exceeds supply. Considering Wentz scored against the Colts, Garoppolo’s two seconds sounded pretty reasonable. We’re about a thousand words late for TL;DR, but here’s one thing: A handsome man wins. It’s Jimmy’s world, they’re all just peddling it.
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