All offseason, the San Francisco 49ers have insisted that Jimmy Garoppolo remains in the team's plans for at least 2021. They haven't wavered even after trading up to the No. 3 stop in the upcoming draft, presumably to select a quarterback of the future.
"Jimmy is here to stay. He's our guy this year," one 49ers source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Keeping Garoppolo for at least another season might make sense, even after San Francisco lands one of the top quarterback prospects in this year's draft class. The team can afford it after clearing some salary-cap space. Should the 49ers land a Trey Lance or Justin Fields, the young quarterback could sit for a season behind the veteran and use the year to absorb head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Then, next offseason, the Niners could reevaluate the situation.
Not everyone believes San Francisco will hold onto Garoppolo, though. General manager John Lynch told NFL Network's Steve Wyche that other teams have inquired. At least one of those teams was the New England Patriots. They reportedly inquired about a potential reunion with Garoppolo before free agency and were shut down, being told by the 49ers that Garoppolo wasn't available—at the time.
Of course, the situation has changed.
With the 49ers obviously targeting a quarterback in the first round, Lynch told Wyche that they would "absolutely" entertain offers. Obviously, if a good enough one presented itself, San Francisco's brain trust would at least consider it.
Apparently, no one around the league is really buying that the 49ers are hell-bent on keeping Garoppolo around for the upcoming season.
"[The] Patriots have shown interest in acquiring Garoppolo," wrote Jeff Howe of The Athletic (h/t to Marcus White of NBC Sports), "and other teams believe the 2014 second-rounder is available or at least will become available once the Niners stop bluffing. The 49ers-Dolphins trade will lead to teams continuing to check on Garoppolo's availability. ... Will [the Patriots] be willing to offer more for Garoppolo to entice the 49ers to pull the trigger? They were planning to monitor Garoppolo's availability either way."
Wyche said on Friday that he could envision a scenario in which the 49ers trade Garoppolo before the draft and head into the 2021 season with a rookie under center.
"[Lynch has] gotten several calls on [Garoppolo]," Wyche told Keiana Martin of 49ers.com. "So, if they get the compensation that they think is fair, I could see Jimmy Garoppolo being moved before the draft and the Niners rocking with a rookie QB this year."