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How a Jimmy Garoppolo trade to the Indianapolis Colts might look

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be moved at some point soon. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts are readily looking for an upgrade over Carson Wentz at quarterback.

This has led to at least some speculation that Indianapolis might look to pull off a trade for Garoppolo.

Meanwhile, recent reports suggest that there’s not a strong market for Garoppolo’s services — meaning that a team could acquire the Super Bowl quarterback on the cheap. Below, we look at how a Garoppolo trade to the Colts might look.

Related: Updated NFL trade rumors

San Francisco 49ers can’t expect a whole lot for Jimmy Garopplo

Jimmy Garoppolo
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

There were indications earlier in the offseason that San Francisco was holding out hope for a first-round pick in exchange for Garoppolo. It would be a way for the team to recoup some of the draft capital it exhausted in trading up for fellow quarterback Trey Lance last spring.

This isn’t going to happen. Despite a ton of teams being in desperation status when it comes to the quarterback positition, there’s obviously some concern over Garoppolo’s ability to be a major upgrade.

As you can see, Jimmy GQ is a pedestrian signal caller from a statistical perspective. There’s also concern that he was a mere product of Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system and the wide array of talent the quarterback had to work with.

Even then, we’re talking about a quarterback who has posted a career 33-14 record as a starter. Sure Wentz put up better stats a season ago. But any objective mind would conclude that Garoppolo would be an upgrade for the Indianapolis Colts.

That leads us to believe that Indy could offer up its third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and a future mid-round selection. There’s also a chance San Francisco might want a veteran player rather than a future selection. Perhaps, someone like tight end Jack Doyle could make sense.

Related: Indianapolis Colts QB options to replace Carson Wentz

Indianapolis Colts would sign Jimmy Garoppolo to a contract extension

NFL: NFC Divisional Round-San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis is currently $36.99 million under the 2022 NFL salary cap. It will save another $13.29 million by releasing or trading the aforementioned Wentz. That’s not a bad situation to be in.

Even then, Garoppolo’s $24.2 million cap hit for an acquiring team isn’t necessarily great. It would rank within the top-12 quarterbacks in the NFL next season.

The obvious end result here would be for Indianapolis to sign Garoppolo to a short-term contract extension as a way to lower his 2022 cap number. Something like $81 million over three seasons ($27 million annually) would work.

A move of this ilk would likely save Indy a cool $7 million or so while pushing back Garoppolo’s large cap hits to future seasons without a whole bunch of guaranteed money remaining.

Potential Jimmy Garoppolo contract extension

  • Three years, $81 million with $40 million guaranteed
  • 2022 cap hit: $17 million
  • 2023 cap hit: $25 million
  • 2024 cap hit: $27 million
  • 2025 cap hit: $29 million

This would enable Indianapolis to get out from Garoppolo’s contract following the 2023 season while saving $12 million against the cap.

Either way, Indianapolis is desperate to add a quarterback to the mix. Garoppolo would come cheap from a compensation standpoint. Meanwhile, general manager Chris Ballard could work his salary cap magic.

With Garoppolo in the mix, Indianapolis becomes a legit contender in the AFC. It has everything else in place to contend. Unfortunately, Wentz’s performance down the stretch last season failed this team as it missed out on the postseason. Garoppolo would be a completely diffrent ball game with his track record of success.

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