For months, San Francisco 49ers fans have been awaiting closure surrounding the quarterback situation with Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, and finally got some last week when head coach Kyle Shanahan declared that Lance was the guy moving forward at the position.
Even more closure around Garoppolo could be on its way soon, as Marco Martinez of the "49ers RedZone" podcast confirmed to me on Thursday that the veteran quarterback's agent has indeed been in talks with the New York Giants, who have had themselves a bit of a quarterback dilemma after electing to bypass on Daniel Jones's fifth-year option and signing veteran Tyrod Taylor to a two-year deal in the offseason.
Remember, Garoppolo currently has one year and $24.2 million left on his contract, but it's highly unlikely that he'll play this season at that number given the lack of available cap space from potential suitors.
However, since Garoppolo's contract is non-guaranteed, and since the 49ers have officially granted him permission to seek a trade, the veteran quarterback is free to negotiate a reworked contract with other teams, which can be agreed to when a trade occurs.
For all intents and purposes, Garoppolo is a free agent who can work out a contract with potential suitors. Then, once that contract has been agreed to in principle, the 49ers and that team can execute a trade, gaining compensation in return, and essentially making this exchange a "sign-and-trade".
Martinez's words came the same day that New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was seen struggling at training camp, leading some to question whether the Giants may look for a trade or even let veteran Tyrod Taylor take some of the first-team snaps.
The NY Daily News's Pat Leonard wrote that Jones' offense was a mess on Friday, and even entertained the idea of trading for Garoppolo himself.
"The rookie head coach [Brian Daboll] is only three practices into his first Giants training camp, but Daniel Jones' first-string offense was a mess on Friday. Quickly it seems inevitable that at some point Daboll may need to see what his first-string offense looks like with Tyrod Taylor under center instead. Or maybe the Giants actually would entertain a trade for the San Francisco 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo after all."
In fact, with the quarterback situation in limbo, and the Giants not expected to contend heavily in 2022, Garoppolo could elevate the team's floor, attracting potential free agents in the 2023 offseason, while serving as a bridge quarterback to whoever may be New York's quarterback-of-the-future.
The Giants do have Kadarius Toney, Wandale Robinson, and Sterling Shepard, all of whom work well after the catch, which could play to Garoppolo's strengths under the new Daboll offense, while also having a big-bodied receiver in Kenny Golladay, who may serve as a safety blanket for the quarterbacks as a contested-catch option should he remain healthy.
While a trade may not materialize, given that it's only the early stages, it's interesting to note that Garoppolo has received interest for his services on the contingency that he reworks his contract.
By choosing to rework his contract for teams, Garoppolo will almost assuredly get to choose his next destination, although the 49ers will obviously have the final say in a trade.