Jimmy Garoppolo is set for free agency and is on his way out of San Francisco after six years with the 49ers.
The quarterback was expected to depart a year ago but stuck around for another campaign which, unfortunately, was derailed by injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear the QB wouldn’t be in his plans for 2023, so Jimmy G is likely to find himself no shortage of suitors when free agency kicks in on March 15.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (H/T NFL.com), the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and Las Vegas Raiders are likely to show interest in signing the veteran signal caller, who should be good to go now as it was thought he might have been available had the Niners made it to the Super Bowl.
None of the teams mentioned above would be looking to bring Garoppolo in as its main man. The Texans have the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft while the Raiders have the No. 7 and the Panthers will be picking at No. 9 – they are all expected to draft a quarterback. So if one of them signs the 31-year-old, he will function as a veteran bridge.
Jimmy’s great reputation around the league makes him a top option for such a role and it helps that he has ties to two of three teams. The QB worked with Raiders HC Josh McDaniels in New England, with the latter being the offensive coordinator for the Patriots during his three years as a player with the team.
DeMeco Ryans recently took over as Houston head coach after working as a defensive coordinator for the Niners while Bobby Slowik, former San Francisco assistant, has been hired as the offensive coordinator.
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Slowik has made no secret of his interest in Garoppolo.
“We have a process we go through,” he said to reporters this week. “Jimmy is obviously part of that process. He’s going to be a free agent. We grind through that as a coaching staff. We grind through that in the personnel department. We have conversations.
“I’ve had conversations with [general manager] Nick [Caserio]. He has conversations with DeMeco [Ryans]. Then, Nick and DeMeco put their heads together and lay out a plan of what we want to do going forward and we’ll see where that takes us.”
