Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area joined Rise Guys on ESPN 1320 yesterday to discuss the San Francisco 49ers. During the interview, Maiocco discussed the quarterback possibilities for the team in 2017. Apparently, he is a big fan of going after New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who will likely garner a lot of trade interest once the 2016 season is complete.
Due to a four-game suspension of starting quarterback Tom Brady, Garoppolo started two games for the Patriots to kick off the 2016 season. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown in New England's 23-21 Week 1 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Garoppolo was supposed to start all four games but was sidelined with a sprained AC joint during the second quarter of the Week 2 contest against the Miami Dolphins.
"Now remember, NFL free agency and the trading period opens about seven weeks before the draft," Maiocco said. "I think the 49ers have to make an aggressive push. Now, assuming that they think Jimmy Garoppolo or someone like that out there -- but let's go with Garoppolo. The little bit I saw of him, I liked his pocket presence. I liked the way he gets rid of the football. I like his accuracy. I like everything about him and he's had some really good coaching for three years.
"I think you've got to be aggressive and you've got to go after him. Obviously, not give up your first round pick this year, but maybe two seconds (or) something like that. And if you pay the price to get some guy, now you don't need to get that quarterback in round one or round two because you already have the guy that you think is going to be the future.
"So, to me, that's the plan and people might be wondering, 'Why would the Patriots give up Jimmy Garoppolo?' Well, he would be entering his fourth season next year and he'd become an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2017. If they don't trade something and get something big for him now, then he's going to leave as a free agent because they're not going to be able to pay both him and Brady. And you're only getting a compensatory pick of say a -- basically, a fourth-round pick -- end of the third round compensatory. That would be the motivation for the Patriots to make this deal in the offseason and I think it's doable."
You can listen to the entire interview here on ESPN 1320.
Maybe Maiocco can garner some fan votes as a candidate to be the 49ers' next general manager. That position remains up in the air so we don't know who will be making the roster deals after 2016. Current 49ers general manager Trent Baalke is reportedly very much on the hot seat. Maiocco has even reported that Baalke could end up with the Denver Broncos should he be fired by San Francisco.
The wait to find out what will happen is almost over for the Niner Faithful. Just two more games remain in the 2016 season.