Mike Florio doesn’t believe Jimmy Garoppolo has a future in the Bay Area.
Garoppolo is a player to keep an eye on as the start of the new NFL year begins. The 49ers have the opportunity to get out of Garoppolo’s contract this offseason without any significant financial repercussions, and there’s reason to believe San Francisco is at least considering moving on from the 29-year-old quarterback. Garoppolo only has played one full 16-game slate with the Niners since joining the organization midway through the 2017 season, though he did lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl in that 2019 campaign.
Although a Garoppolo trade this offseason also is a possibility, Florio believes the 49ers ultimately will cut the seven-year pro.
“So here’s my prediction: the 49ers won’t eventually roll the dice with Garoppolo again, not at his current contract,” Florio wrote for ProFootballTalk. “And since they won’t be able to trade the contract, they’ll eventually cut Garoppolo — taking a cap charge of only $2.8 million.
“Because he has no trigger in his contract forcing the 49ers to make an early decision, they can wait to find a replacement before cutting him. Whether that happens via trade (like a Sam Darnold) or free agency or the draft, once they think they have the guy they want, they can get rid of the guy they’ll no longer need.”
Many Patriots fans likely are hoping Florio’s prediction comes to fruition. New England is in dire need of a quarterback upgrade, and one would imagine Bill Belichick and Co. would be interested in Garoppolo if he became available. Jimmy G isn’t a world-beater by any means, but at the very minimum, he’s a signal-caller with multiple seasons in Foxboro under his belt.
That said, it wouldn’t make much sense for the 49ers to move on from Garoppolo unless they have the utmost confidence in a potential backfill. Garoppolo probably is better than any of the impending free-agent quarterbacks, so San Francisco might need to make a trade for a QB if it wants to upgrade.
