At least one NFL team is interested in acquiring San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. According to former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, it's the Seattle Seahawks, which makes a lot of sense. Right now, it looks like head coach Pete Carroll plans to enter Week 1 with Geno Smith as his starting quarterback. Smith has been competing with Drew Lock.
Obviously, Garoppolo would be an upgrade for the Seahawks. It's pretty clear that Seattle has no desire to trade for the 49ers quarterback, knowing that a release is likely. And San Francisco doesn't want to do its division rival any favors. That explains why Garoppolo remains on the 49ers' roster this close to the start of the season.
Everything Lombardi hears from his NFL sources points to a strong desire by the Seahawks to add Garoppolo.
"I keep asking teams all the time, why don't they just cut Jimmy G now?" Lombardi said on his podcast, The GM Shuffle, per 95.7 The Game. "And the answer that I got back from multiple teams is 'they don't want him to go to Seattle'. I said, 'Well how interested is Seattle in Jimmy G?' And (one source) said 'Oh, they're very interested in him.' So for all the talk about Geno, for all the talk about Drew Lock, I think Seattle knows they're going to get Jimmy G. And I think San Francisco knows that he could go there. So they're trying everything in their power to prevent that, and they have no takers.
"So what I think will happen is the Friday before the opening weekend, I think they'll cut Jimmy G. I think that's when they'll cut him, and then he'll have to go do his contract and go up to Seattle and go there. But there is no interest in allowing Seattle to have even a week of preparation with Jimmy G to come in as their starting quarterback. But I do believe, reliably reported to me, that Seattle is the team that wants him."
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area recently reported that the 49ers believe Garoppolo will end up with the Seahawks, resulting in a matchup against the quarterback at least twice in 2022.
"So my guess is that he's released on August 30th, and probably the next day, he's signing with some team," Maiocco said. "And I know around the 49ers, that they think he's going to be ending up in Seattle."
How far are the 49ers willing to go to ensure Garoppolo doesn't end up in Seattle? Could the team stating that they are willing to carry the quarterback and his hefty salary-cap figure into the regular season not be a bluff at all, as most assumed it was?
"I think any scenario is possible," head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week when asked if Garoppolo could remain on the roster.
The 49ers' CEO, Jed York, insists the team is willing to keep Garoppolo, making him a very expensive backup—unless there is a significant contract restructure—for Trey Lance.
"I've said this before: You can't have enough good quarterbacks and good football players," York recently told The Athletic. "... We're happy to keep Jimmy. We're happy to have him on the roster. And if that's the case, then that's the case."