San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is the top available quarterback remaining heading into NFL free agency.
Garoppolo will be met with a solid market after the likes of Daniel Jones (New York Giants) and Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) re-signed with their teams. Derek Carr’s decision to sign with the New Orleans Saints ahead of free agency added another layer to this.
Despite his injury-plagued ways and limited ceiling, Garoppolo can still offer a nice amount as a stopgap option. It’s in this that he’s in line for a solid contract once the tampering period opens.
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Garoppolo’s asking price is said to be at least $25 million annually. He would also like an incentive-laden deal that helps the Super Bowl quarterback near the $27 million he was earning annually in his contract with the 49ers.
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Jimmy Garoppolo market heading into NFL free agency
The Carolina Panthers moving up to the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft changed the dynamics some. It took one team out of the Garoppolo market.
At this point, the Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders are the two organizations that have been linked to Garoppolo the most. Both have a need to add a starter-caliber signal caller as they prepare to likely go with a young quarterback early in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Houston is slated to select second overall. With Carolina having moved up to the first pick, its draft strategy might have changed some. As for Las Vegas, it boasts the seventh overall pick and needs to find a quarterback to replace the aforementioned Carr. The Raiders had been in talks to acquire that first pick from the Chicago Bears. It never came to fruition.
- Jimmy Garoppolo stats (2022): 67% completion, 2,437 yards, 16 TD, 4 INT, 103.0 QB rating
Despite his solid stats, Garoppolo has been injury plagued throughout the past several years. In fact, the former second-round pick has missed 23 games since the start of the 2018 campaign.
Even then, someone with a strong track record of winning (40-17 career record as a starter) and experience will do well during NFL free agency.