"The San Francisco 49ers can now look back at the trade for Jimmy Garoppolo and realize they made a mistake," Bleacher Report analyst Matt Miller wrote on Friday.
It's not that Miller believes the actual trade for Garoppolo wasn't worth the risk. He says the mistake was the 49ers locking themselves to the quarterback by signing him to a massive deal after just five starts with the team. Another mistake was not having a viable backup plan, should Garoppolo miss time, which he has, or fail to produce.
Garoppolo has missed 16 games over the past three seasons. However, in his one full season as a starter, the quarterback helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl.
Garoppolo could be back by Week 15. On Friday, head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that his quarterback would not require surgery to repair the damage from his second high-ankle sprain of the season. Surgery would have ended his year.
Of course, the 49ers' playoff fate could be decided by Week 15. If they aren't in the hunt, what's the point in putting Garoppolo back on the field for the final three games of the season other than maybe one last evaluation?
Shanahan believes he has a good idea of what Garoppolo is capable of, though. So maybe no further evaluation is necessary. And the coach hasn't given up on his team's playoff chances.
"I've got a good idea with Jimmy," Shanahan shared earlier this week, "and what Jimmy is capable of doing, and that's why he's been here. It's just people get better when they play more, and that's what I feel for Jimmy on. One, Jimmy gives us the best chance to win. He's proven that."
Miller believes the solution to the 49ers' quarterback dilemma, if you feel they have one, lies in the draft. It sounds like the Bleacher Report analyst, a longtime Niners fan, has given up on Garoppolo.
"The only way the 49ers can fix it is to admit their mistakes and move on," wrote Miller. "With a roster plagued with season-ending injuries, they may actually lose enough games to be in position to draft a replacement for Garoppolo."
Clemson's Trevor Lawrence will probably be out of reach, but Miller does mention several other quarterbacks who may be a good fit for San Francisco.
He names Ohio State's Justin Fields and North Dakota State's Trey Lance as options, should the 49ers find themselves selecting in the top 10 of next year's draft. If not, others, like BYU's Zach Wilson, Florida's Kyle Trask, or Alabama's Mac Jones, may be options. Miller likes Wilson if Shanahan wants to add a mobile quarterback to his offensive arsenal.
"Trask and Jones are more traditional passers, but each possesses downfield passing traits that would still open up the 49ers' offense in ways it's not right now," adds Miller. "… Both would be an upgrade over the conservative, checkdown-based offense the 49ers are rolling out each week. And both would be available outside the top 10 picks of the first round should a late-season revival push San Francisco down the draft board."
Click here to read Miller's entire feature over at Bleacher Report.