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What is next for San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo?

By Lou Scataglia

Jan 30, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Recent Jimmy Garoppolo news has again sparked conversation about the future of the controversial quarterback for 2022 and beyond.

I think if you asked 10 people about their opinion of Jimmy Garoppolo as a quarterback, you’d get 10 different answers.  He’s controversial in that way, and there has been some recent clarity about his availability for the rest of this offseason.

A recent report has stated that Jimmy Garoppolo will be fully cleared by mid-August, which would put him in a tight spot.

Right now, there really isn’t much trade activity surrounding Jimmy G.  Since the Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield, the 49ers don’t have a huge market for his services.

Since he won’t be fully cleared until the middle of August, there might be a situation where a team suffers an injury to their starting quarterback, so trading for Garoppolo would make sense.

At this moment in time, if he had to be traded by the end of the week, where would the Niners ship him to?

In the AFC, the Steelers, Browns, Dolphins, and Texans. are all teams who you could make an argument for that should trade for Jimmy Garoppolo.  The Steelers are unlikely, as they signed Mitchell Trubisky and drafted Kenny Pickett, but their quarterback situation is among the worst in the conference.

The Browns are awaiting a ruling on the Deshaun Watson saga.  If he is suspended for an extended period of time, perhaps the Browns would feel more comfortable starting Garoppolo instead of their current backup, Jacoby Brissett.

The Dolphins did just add to their offense around Tua Tagovailoa and have a high-quality backup in Teddy Bridgewater, but Garoppolo is clearly better than both players.

The Texans enjoyed a surprising and promising season from Davis Mills.  I do think Mills has a chance to turn into something, but in the AFC quarterback hierarchy, the Texans are very low.

As for the NFC, most teams also have their signal caller in place.  The Giants could view Garoppolo as a better option than Daniel Jones, but that’s all the teams I could reasonably consider.

Sure, the Falcons have some uncertainty, but their current quarterback situation of Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota flows well together.  Those two share very similar qualities and are essentially versions of each other.  I’m not sure how Jimmy G would be able to fit in.

Again, this might end up coming down to injuries where a team would need to acquire Garoppolo to fill the void, and it is very difficult to see any other scenario where Garoppolo isn’t starting week one.

Could the 49ers keep Garoppolo on the roster as a backup to Trey Lance, and would he be open to a backup job in general?  After appearing in two NFC Championship games the past two seasons and one Super Bowl, it is hard to envision he would accept that scenario.

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