Almost all of this year’s big-name quarterback dominoes have fallen. Jimmy Garoppolo is not one of them as he remains on the 49ers roster. Despite publicly acknowledging he’d likely be traded, teams have simply not been calling about his status as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
The team doesn’t expect to deal the QB until just before training camp, according to ESPN, aiming to shop Garoppolo after he completes rehab sometime this summer.
“After losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game, the expectation was that the first big piece of business — trading Garoppolo — would happen quickly,” Nick Wagoner wrote Monday. “That was before it was known Garoppolo needed right shoulder surgery, a procedure that wiped out his trade value and put his future in limbo.
“Garoppolo’s shoulder is slated to get the all-clear in late June or early July,” Wagoner continued, “at which point the Niners will again seek a trade partner. And though the Niners have said repeatedly they don’t intend to release Garoppolo, it’s still hard to imagine a scenario in which he’s on the roster in Week 1, at least at his current $26.95 million cap number.”
Another reason it may be beneficial to keep him on the roster is that the 49ers’ staff has reportedly been “continually underwhelmed” by its top 2021 NFL Draft pick, Trey Lance, according to NFL reporter Matt Lombardo.
Garoppolo’s trade market remains limited. Most teams have already addressed QB vacancies. One of the few teams that could still be interested in the veteran as a 2022 starter is the Panthers, who spent a third-round pick on Mississippi’s Matt Corral but otherwise have just Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker on their QB depth chart.
Seattle could be another team, but they have already shut down any notion they would be making a trade for a veteran QB.
In 2017, the 49ers originally traded for Garoppolo after he backed up Tom Brady on the Patriots for three seasons. Garoppolo led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019, the team’s first time in seven years.
