By Jordan Long
The San Francisco 49ers made a trade with the Miami Dolphins to move up in the draft. The 49ers are receiving the #3 pick in the draft and sending the Dolphins the #12 pick along with a first-round selection in 2022 and 2023 as well as a third-round pick in 2022. All indications are the 49ers will go with a quarterback and may trade starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers now will have a chance to draft their quarterback of the future. This could include Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, or Mac Jones. All of them have been ranked high on the draft boards. They could be NFL ready, but the fact is they have never played an NFL game. The 49ers could keep Garoppolo to mentor one of these players to understand the NFL game. That may not happen because the 49ers are expected to trade Garoppolo. Teams that might consider acquiring him are the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and New England Patriots.
The Broncos have been in rumors for most free agent quarterbacks or dealing for a veteran even though it has yet to happen. The Broncos have a quarterback in Drew Lock who has started 18 games in his career. He is not a finished product with an 8-10 record passing for 3,953 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. The Broncos want competition for Lock to earn the starting position.
On the roster, the only veteran quarterback is Jeff Driskel but he can’t push Lock to earn the starting gig. Garoppolo would be the quarterback to do so. If Garoppolo can’t, at least Denver has a quarterback who can back up Lock. The only problem is Garoppolo’s cap hit at $26.4 million. The Broncos have around $24.9 million left in cap space. Unless Garoppolo is willing to lower his cap for 2021, Denver is not going to get him.
The Panthers make more sense than the Denver Broncos. They have two quarterbacks on the roster, Teddy Bridgewater and Phillip Walker. Garoppolo only needs to beat out Bridgewater for the position. Even if he doesn’t, he is guaranteed to be the backup. The Panthers would need to create cap space for Garoppolo but it is easier since they have around $25.884 million left.
The Bears and the Patriots don’t make a whole lot of sense. Chicago already has two veterans on the roster in Nick Foles and Andy Dalton. Both of them have been starters in this league. The Bears wouldn’t deal for Garoppolo because Foles and Dalton are better. The only way Garoppolo lands with the Bears is if Chicago includes Foles in the swap.
The New England Patriots kept quarterback Cam Newton who is going to start for them. It wouldn’t make sense for them to land Garoppolo since they already have their #1 quarterback. They could use another quarterback, but Garoppolo wants to be a starter. It is probably not going to happen there. The only advantage Garoppolo has is he knows the New England Patriots’ offensive system since he played for them from 2014 to 2016 as the backup to Tom Brady.
The 49ers will do what is best for the franchise. It seems like moving on from Garoppolo is the best option. San Francisco wants to get the best value for him even if it is more draft picks. The worst-case scenario is the 49ers keep Garoppolo this upcoming season.
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