The Pittsburgh Steelers remain the favorite to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo via a trade. On paper, such a move makes sense. It would send the San Francisco 49ers quarterback out of the NFC to a team that is in win-now mode.
"I just want to go to a place where they want to win," Garoppolo told reporters in what was likely his final press conference as a member of the Niners. "That's really what I'm in this game for."
Some feel the Washington Commanders are a potential landing spot. Maybe even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Denver Broncos.
One national NFL reporter threw out another team as a "real sleeper" to potentially jump into the mix to acquire Garoppolo. Mike Sando of The Athletic believes the 49ers quarterback raised his value this season, being part of a team that got to the NFC Championship Game after a 3-5 start.
San Francisco also benefits from what could be strong offseason demand for quarterbacks and this year's crop of rookie passers not expected to be the strength of the draft.
"I think Indy is a real sleeper team," Mike Sando of The Athletic said Tuesday on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "I do. I think the Carson Wentz thing didn't work out for them, and I think that they could move him. Maybe they can still get something for him.
"Garoppolo could make some sense, [going to] sort of a team that's already pretty good, that, at its best, has a good offensive line, and might be able to support him -- a pretty good defense. Remember he's going to be part of this too and [the 49ers] are going to try to take care of him. So that's the type of team."
Sando adds that he doesn't know if the Buccaneers are a great fit for Garoppolo when it comes to their scheme. They lost Tom Brady to retirement, but may go in a different direction.
"[The Colts] kind of came to my mind to me just looking around at these teams that are in a position to win," Sando continued. "If they are going to send him to a team that has a chance, that really limits it, right? Because most of the teams that have a chance have a quarterback that's at least as good as Garoppolo or not so much worse that you're going to trade out your guy, right?"
What about the betting-favorite Steelers? Sando believes Garoppolo fits there, but the reporter wouldn't be surprised if Pittsburgh stuck with one of its own guys or went with a rookie.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Sando below.
