Things may not be going as planned for the San Francisco 49ers regarding their quarterback situation. The team likely hoped to trade Jimmy Garoppolo and his hefty salary before Wednesday's deadline to be at or below the $208.2 million salary cap. Right now, they are about $4.6 million above that mark, and that's not including the massive deal being given to cornerback Charvarius Ward.
Fans waiting to hear about a trade may have to wait even longer. Several NFL Network insiders report that nothing is imminent regarding Garoppolo, who underwent shoulder surgery last week. While the procedure went well, the quarterback is expected to miss much of the offseason.
"It seems a little far-fetched, I would say, to imagine a trade happens at any point soon," Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network. "The Pittsburgh Steelers, who were interested in Jimmy Garoppolo ... they are going to sign Mitchell Trubisky, so they are out. That leaves the Indianapolis Colts as the team with interest. There is nothing imminent there with the Colts.
"So, as of right now, Garoppolo remains a member of the San Francisco 49ers, and we will see if anything picks up, if anything changes, maybe around the time of the draft."
Rapoport adds that the Colts are also interested in Marcus Mariota. That doesn't bode well for the 49ers.
"My understanding has been [Garoppolo] should be [medically] cleared right around the start of training camp," said Tom Pelissero, "so that's not anything that's going to stop a deal from taking place. Now, there have been teams that have reached out, gotten his medical scans, have evaluated that process."
Pelissero adds that one additional option for a Garoppolo trade might be the Houston Texans, who could trade Deshaun Watson this week.
"There's a relationship there with [Texans GM] Nick Caserio, with Jimmy Garoppolo in New England," Pelissero noted. "Keep that in mind, if some other things fall through, as a possibility at some point down the road."
Mike Garafolo says the 49ers may be forced to wait beyond the draft. He added that there is a connection between Garoppolo and new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, so that may become an option. Of course, that would mean moving on from Derek Carr.
"The 49ers are sitting there saying, 'Yeah, we'd like to have this done quickly. We're going to try to get it done quickly. But we're not going to rush it. We're going to take our time,'" Garafolo said. "So maybe ... it's around the draft. Maybe it's somewhere thereafter. Maybe they're carrying Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster into the summer until the point where he's cleared medically, he can throw, you can take a look at him and say, 'OK, we're comfortable with the shoulder.'
"I know we were looking at this, saying it was going to be done early in the process in free agency and the start of the league year, but it could take some time."