ESPN insider Adam Schefter joined KNBR on Monday night to provide some details on the trade that is sending backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots and thrusts him into the role of the San Francisco 49ers' franchise quarterback.
Apparently, trade talks between New England and San Francisco started on Monday, the same day the deal was finalized.
"My understanding is, actually, trade conversations started today," Schefter revealed. "Today. In one day, the two sides consummated a deal that resulted in Jimmy Garoppolo winding up in San Francisco as the 49ers' quarterback of the future."
If the trade sounds like it happened very fast, Schefter explained further.
"Well, it's really not a difficult deal to get done once you start going through it," he said. "If you're New England and you know you're going to be trading Jimmy Garoppolo, there are only a certain number of realistic destinations that you can look to trade him to. And there certainly is enough interest around the league. And in this particular case, my understanding is, the Niners and Patriots began talking today, they discussed the deal, the deal gets done for a second-round draft pick."
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Of course, Garoppolo is in the final year of his contract. That doesn't mean he will become a free agent in 2018. The 49ers have an abundance of cap space available to get a long-term deal done. If they cannot, Schefter explains other options available to San Francisco.
"This deal just got done and it's a situation where they'll have time to discuss how they want to go about keeping him," Schefter said. "The 49ers didn't make this deal to just have Jimmy Garoppolo walk away in the offseason. They have their franchise tag at their disposal. If they can't get a deal done, they franchise him and at least know they've got a quarterback that they have the rights to this year and beyond even though his contract his up. That franchise tag ties Jimmy Garoppolo, if they decide to use it, to the 49ers."
You can listen to the entire interview with Schefter below.
In addition to trading for Garoppolo, the 49ers will also be releasing former starting quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Garoppolo has appeared in 17 games while starting two over his four seasons with New England. During that time, he has completed 67-percent of his passes for 690 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 106.2.
Due to the four-game suspension of Patriots 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.