There has been a lot of chatter surrounding when and to whom the San Francisco 49ers trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. However, there are a couple of other options to consider.
Garoppolo will undergo surgery on his throwing shoulder in the coming days. That could impact his trade value—or, at the very least, the timing of a deal. With an estimated 16-week recovery time, quarterback-needy teams might be hesitant to trade for a signal-caller who they won't see throw until late June or early July.
Or maybe, in the end, the injury news is of no concern to some teams.
Insider Ian Rapoport recently asked one NFL general manager if he believes the 49ers can pull off a trade of Garoppolo even though the quarterback is about to undergo surgery.
"Well, yeah, because you need to have one (a quarterback)," the GM told Rapoport.
The unnamed general manager feels it is worth a draft pick to take a risk on a quarterback like Garoppolo, even if he will miss much of the offseason.
One 49ers insider, Matt Barrows of The Athletic, was asked to discuss the various options involving Garoppolo. The team can trade, cut, or even keep the quarterback. That last option is one that the 49ers haven't dismissed.
This week, general manager John Lynch admitted that the team discussed a salary-cap scenario that allows the roster to carry Garoppolo and second-year quarterback Trey Lance into the 2022 season, allowing the two to compete for the starting job.
"If we have the two of them again, and let them go compete, then we're happy to do that as well," said Lynch. "And we're capable of doing that with our cap."
Then you have the option to cut Garoppolo, again, freeing up his owed salary and allowing the quarterback and his agent to find a new NFL home on their own.
Some have wildly speculated that maybe Garoppolo delayed the surgery to force the 49ers' hand, wanting to be cut rather than traded or forced to compete with Lance.
"It's clear the 49ers see Lance, not Garoppolo, as their future," Barrows wrote in his recent mailbag feature, "so why would he want to stay and play second fiddle?"
However, Barrows also believes the 49ers' and Garoppolo's intentions are aligned. The quarterback wants to be a starter and a chance to win. The two sides are reportedly working together to ensure Garoppolo lands in a desirable situation.
Three options—trade, cut, or keep. Barrows also ranked the likelihood of those options.
"Trade? Cut? Keep? I think you have the likelihood of those scenarios in the proper order," Barrows said.
It sounds like Barrows believes the 49ers would rather rid themselves of Garoppolo's hefty salary—in any way possible—rather than keep him for one more season. From a financial perspective, that makes perfect sense.
