The 49ers officially have restarted their efforts to trade Jimmy Garoppolo and his agents are working toward that end, too. That underscores the fact the team very much wants to move its former starter (and his about $25 million salary) and that Garoppolo doesn’t want to be part of a franchise that clearly sees its future in Trey Lance.
But does that dynamic lend itself to a favorable trade, especially since Garoppolo still is working his way into form after a March surgery on his throwing shoulder? There are many creative ways to engineer a deal as the Baker Mayfield-to-Carolina deal earlier this month illustrated. In this piece, The Athletic’s Michael Shawn-Dugar, Zac Jackson and Adam Coleman make their best offers for Garoppolo and David Lombardi plays the part of 49ers GM John Lynch, evaluating his options and ultimately making a decision. — Matt Barrows
How has Garoppolo stacked up within advanced metrics to other QBs?
You’d think any team would love to have a quarterback with a 0.16 rate in Offensive Total Expected Points Added (via TruMedia) from the past four seasons, yet Garoppolo’s path still seems lost. His four-year rate ranks eighth overall among qualified quarterbacks (passers with at least 100 passing attempts in the four-year span).
His 0.14 EPA rate from 2021 ranked ninth in the league, ahead of those from Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins and Josh Allen. Garoppolo’s EPA ranged from good to very good the past four seasons: 0.13 in 2018, 0.19 in 2019, 0.14 in 2020, 0.14 in 2021. How much of that is because of Garoppolo and how much of that is because of the overall offensive success is debatable. Regardless, it shows Garoppolo can help guide teams to wins given the right circumstances.
Our Giants offer
What can you offer in a trade? The Giants are far from settled when it comes to their quarterback of the future. But they’re pretty well set for 2022. The Giants declined Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option for 2023, setting this up to be a make-or-break season for the No. 6 pick in 2019. If Jones delivers this fall, the Giants can keep him with the franchise tag or an extension. If he flops, the franchise can walk away with no strings attached and begin their search for a new franchise QB, probably in next year’s draft.
Also, the Giants signed veteran Tyrod Taylor this spring to a two-year, $11 million deal to back up Jones. In short, they’re likely riding with these two guys in 2022 come hell or high water. The only way I could see the Giants making even a semi-serious push for Garoppolo would be if Jones gets hurt during the preseason, and even then, Jimmy G. might already have been moved out of San Francisco. It seems highly unlikely they’ll even make an offer, but I don’t know, what about a sixth-round pick in 2023?