At first glance, a San Francisco 49ers trade of Jimmy Garoppolo to the Seattle Seahawks seems improbable. Why would the Niners be willing to help their division rivals in any way? Despite the criticisms against the veteran quarterback, Garoppolo is an improvement over Drew Lock and Geno Smith.
This week, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that the Seahawks had done their homework on Garoppolo, just in case the chance of a trade presented itself.
"I'm told that, internally, they have discussed the possibility of Garoppolo playing for them," Fowler said. "They've done their film work to see how he would fit."
FS1's Colin Cowherd discussed the possibility of a Garoppolo-to-Seattle trade and explained why the move makes sense for both the 49ers and Seahawks. He noted that San Francisco likes Garoppolo a lot. However, his injury history prompted the team to draft Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick last year.
"They don't want to give him away," Cowherd said. "Because of his shoulder surgery, they're going to get a fifth-round pick. There's one exception. Seattle, in the Russell Wilson trade, has two number ones and two number twos next year. And San Francisco believes they can get a second-round pick for Garoppolo—only from Seattle.
"Everybody else will say, 'I'm not giving you a second-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo.' But San Francisco can go to Seattle and say, 'Time out. You think I'm going to give Jimmy Garoppolo to a division rival with a chance that he's going to come back and beat us twice a year? You're going to pay the price for that."
Cowherd believes the 49ers can get much more from the Seahawks for Garoppolo than any other team right now.
"San Francisco can get what they believe Garoppolo is worth—a first- or a second-round pick," Cowherd added.
Why does the trade work for Seattle? Cowherd explains that head coach Pete Carroll is 70 years old, making the need to win now greater.
"Does he really want to rebuild at this point in his career, at 70?" Cowherd asks. "Pete Carroll's got great energy. He doesn't want to rebuild. And remember, there is no Andrew Luck or Trevor Lawrence in next year's college draft."
Cowherd believes the Seahawks can extend Garoppolo's one-year deal to a team-friendly one of two or three years, allowing them to win while identifying a successor. Of course, if the 49ers potentially holding onto Garoppolo for the 2022 season is just talk to maintain some trade value, maybe the Seahawks can be patient and wait to see if the Niners cut the quarterback.