The 49ers apparently will not budge when it comes to a potential Jimmy Garoppolo trade.
Garoppolo has been a popular name in the NFL news cycle ever since San Francisco traded for the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Some thought the Niners might trade Jimmy G at some point during the draft, but the organization hung on to the 29-year-old while also selecting his potential replacement, Trey Lance, at No. 3.
In the reader question portion of his latest Football Morning in America column, Peter King was asked if there was still a potential landing spot outside the Bay Area for Garoppolo now that the dust has settled on the draft. King is under the impression John Lynch and Co. have established an asking price and will not move off from it.
“Only if a team offers a first-round pick to San Francisco,” King wrote. “There’s a reason why the Niners continued to drive a hard bargain with Garoppolo, asking for a first-round pick in return. Only once in four seasons of the (Kyle) Shanahan-Lynch era has a quarterback started all the way through a season, and that was the Super Bowl season. What a disaster it would be if the Niners traded Garoppolo and Lance got hurt in training camp. So it’s likely that the 49ers will keep Garoppolo for this season, then look to move him or cut him next March.”
As it stands, Garoppolo likely will start the season as San Francisco’s starting quarterback. Seemingly the only scenario in which the Niners move him is if the QB1 of a legitimate playoff/Super Bowl contender suffers a serious injury and becomes desperate. But even in that hypothetical, Lance might not be far along enough in his development where the Niners feel comfortable moving Garoppolo.
Either way, the 2021 campaign is shaping up to be Garoppolo’s last in San Francisco.
