The San Francisco 49ers aren't taking any chances and aren't looking to do a division rival any favors. Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the roster even though it doesn't look like anyone will become desperate enough to trade for the veteran quarterback. Of course, the Niners don't want to hurt themselves by releasing Garoppolo too early. You never know. A trade partner could miraculously emerge.
If a release is inevitable, San Francisco wants to ensure that Garoppolo doesn't have a lot of time to prepare should a team like—let's say the Seattle Seahawks—look to add the quarterback. San Francisco and Seattle face each other in Week 2, by the way. The Seahawks are certainly a better team with Garoppolo leading the offense than with Drew Lock or Geno Smith, even if it's just a one-year rental.
With the 49ers unlikely to trade Garoppolo to Seattle, the Seahawks are content with waiting. They know San Francisco also doesn't want to head into Week 1 with Garoppolo and his $24.2 million base salary still on the ledger. That money becomes fully guaranteed if he remains that long.
One 49ers insider believes Garoppolo will be gone by then, though.
"I would suspect that he's released on August 30th, and then it doesn't go to September 10th," Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area said Monday on KNBR's Tolbert & Copes show. "They could hold onto him for that long, but I don't think they would do that because that would mean that, in essence, they would have to cut one more player than they want to because, with him, it would be 52 players and Jimmy Garoppolo. And so with the roster that they have, I just don't see them doing that."
The Seahawks appear to be one of the reasons Garoppolo remains on San Francisco's roster. The 49ers reporter believes Garoppolo-to-Seattle is a genuine possibility.
"So my guess is that he's released on August 30th, and probably the next day, he's signing with some team," Maiocco continued. "And I know around the 49ers, that they think he's going to be ending up in Seattle."
There could be other interest but signing with Seattle and having a chance to face your former team twice this season might be tempting.
Added Maiocco: "I think Seattle, I think Miami, I think the Browns are all legitimate possibilities."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Maiocco below.