The San Francisco 49ers reportedly have no clear path forward in a possible trade for veteran quarterback Jimmy Garopollo, however, the organization is not expected to release him until they’ve exhausted all options before rosters must be finalized at the end of the month.
The 49ers have put themselves in a difficult situation to start their 2022 campaign. Despite reaching the NFC championship with Garopollo at the offensive helm last season, the organization has decided to transition to a new era with 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance as their starting QB.
While Garopollo would certainly be an upgrade for several teams’ current signal caller situation, his hefty $24.2 million salary for this season has proven difficult to offload this year due to teams having limited cap space. On Monday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport explained the latest and the frustrating predicament San Francisco currently finds itself in.
“The 49ers have been very clear about saying that they plan to trade him. Obviously, he’s not going to be with the team this coming season. My understanding right now is there is no clear trade partner for Jimmy Garopollo. Look around the NFL, think of who could take on that salary, think of who needs a starting quarterback.
“There isn’t any clear option. Maybe one quarterback either doesn’t develop like everybody thinks or maybe there is an injury then one might develop. But as of now it’s a little bit of a waiting game.”
49ers Jimmy garoppolo trade market update
San Francisco 49ers will wait until final cuts before releasing Jimmy Garoppolo
The question then is how long will the 49ers hold on to Garoppolo in the hopes of finally landing a return for the eight-year veteran? Rapoport claims the team will wait until the very last minute when teams need to finalize their regular season rosters on Aug. 31.
“From my understanding, they are willing to wait all the way to cutdown day. And in fact, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for the 49ers to, let’s say, move on from Jimmy Garopollo now because what if another quarterback gets hurt? What if there is some sort of need? It sounds like they’re gonna hold on to him as long as possible just to see if any trade market develops before eventually and likely moving on from him.”
49ers Jimmy garoppolo plans
- Jimmy Garoppolo contract: one-year and $24.2 million remaining
The 49ers begin their preseason schedule on Aug. 12 versus the Green Bay Packers.