Jimmy Garoppolo’s options disappear after Baker Mayfield trade
The San Francisco 49ers have hung onto Jimmy Garoppolo, and it may have cost him a shot at starting in the 2022 season after the Baker Mayfield trade.
The Baker Mayfield saga has officially ended in Cleveland. The Browns are sending the former Heisman Trophy winner and number one overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional 2024 NFL Draft pick.
Yikes.
After a ton of speculation about the future of Mayfield, it now appears there’s really only one prominent starting quarterback whose situation heading into 2022 is very much in limbo. That would be none other than Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers, of course.
At this point, it’s hard to look at Garoppolo’s situation with the 49ers and think that they’ve done him anything but dirty.
All of the starting QB jobs around the NFL are now occupied by other players, and the trade market for Garoppolo could be absolutely non-existent.
What are the most realistic options for Garoppolo at this point?
That is a great question.
Unless he gets cut, it’s hard to see any favorable situation for Jimmy Garoppolo that doesn’t involve sitting behind a young player in another NFL city.
Jimmy Garoppolo’s top options after Baker Mayfield trade to Carolina
1. San Francisco 49ers
Maybe Garoppolo’s best option at this point is staying with the 49ers. Does he have a good shot of starting there still?
Who knows?
It feels like the Trey Lance hype train has been rolling forward most of the offseason while Garoppolo seems to be getting talked about in the past-tense by the 49ers.
It may not be out of the question but staying in San Francisco and waiting for Trey Lance to struggle may be Garoppolo’s only option to play in 2022.
2. Get cut, go to the Chicago Bears
We’ve got a week one reunion between the Seahawks and Russell Wilson.
We’ve got a week one reunion between the Browns and Baker Mayfield now.
What about a reunion between Jimmy G. and the 49ers if he can find his way to the Chicago Bears?
The Bears have a new regime in place and one that did not draft Justin Fields. Fields’ backups at this point are Trevor Siemian and Nathan Peterman.
The Bears wouldn’t have to make a move but bringing Garoppolo home to Chicago could at least be interesting in the event that Fields struggles.
3. Get cut, go to the Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks, at this point, seem hellbent on picking as high as possible in the 2023 NFL Draft.
They’re going to have a competition between Geno Smith and Drew Lock during training camp for the starting job and they showed no real interest in quarterbacks during the 2022 NFL Draft.
Not only that, but they didn’t want Baker Mayfield.
I don’t think they’ll have interest in Garoppolo either, but if he gets cut? You never know.