Respected reporter Benjamin Allbright covers the Denver Broncos. He also has many sources around the NFL, so he knows what's going on with the 31 other teams too, including the San Francisco 49ers.
While Jimmy Garoppolo signed a restructured one-year deal to remain with the 49ers in 2022, Allbright doesn't expect the quarterback to be on the roster past November 1.
"It's a situation where, I think if you look at it from the internal optics of it versus actual practicalities of it, as soon as the Niners get the trade package they want, Jimmy's going to be gone," Allbright said on 95.7 The Game's The Morning Roast. "I don't even expect Jimmy to be there at the end of the season, on that roster, even with that no-trade clause. They wanted to be rid of him. They couldn't get the package they wanted because they had no leverage after the surgery."
Garoppolo's no-trade clause doesn't prohibit the Niners from trading him. It allows him to veto any potential trade and seek a desirable destination.
Allbright added, "I do believe he will be traded before the trade deadline."
The reporter also shared his opinion on the various reports coming from the media regarding second-year quarterback Trey Lance. There have been rumblings of worry among the coaching staff over up and down offseason practices, the quarterback's mechanics, and much more.
Some have speculated that Garoppolo's return represents a lack of confidence from the organization in the second-year quarterback. Others predict that Garoppolo could replace Lance at some point this season, should the latter stumble through his first season as a starter.
"I've seen all this just bad reporting out of there," Allbright said. "Talking about the coaches don't like Trey Lance. That's absolutely false. Talking about they're going to switch back to Jimmy Garoppolo. That's false. All that stuff, it's absolute nonsense. I don't know where this stuff gets cooked up.
"It is the Trey Lance show. They traded those picks for Trey Lance. They weren't trading it for Mac Jones. All this revisionist history, people who were wrong, just need to shut their mouths. They were wrong."
Allbright has been having completely different conversations with his sources inside the organization, which makes the various reports and alleged misinformation frustrating to the NFL insider.
"What I hear is almost the opposite of what I'm seeing out there with a lot of this stuff," Allbright declared. "... I just think it's the unknown. I think people fill the unknown in with whatever fits their preconceived bias. They don't know about Trey Lance. They haven't even seen a full body of work, and so they fill in that unknown with whatever they can in order to generate content. I just hate that kind of stuff."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Allbright below.