Despite speculation and offseason rumors with Jimmy Garoppolo lingering on the 49ers’ roster, San Francisco still intends to trade its veteran quarterback.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday told reporters the team still expects to trade Garoppolo.
“Yeah, nothing’s changed since the surgery, we knew where we were at before that, and then he got the surgery, so everything went on hold,” Shanahan said. “I expect him at some time, most likely to be traded, but who knows. It’s not a guarantee and it’s been exactly on hold when that happened. And when he is healthy, we’ll see what happens.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the 49ers find something of a dry market for the QB that’s taken them to two NFC championship games in the last three seasons. They tried trading him earlier in the offseason, but an injury to his throwing shoulder that required surgery derailed his market just in time for other QB movement to take place.
Now the 49ers find themselves in a spot where suitors for Garoppolo will be thin with Browns QB Baker Mayfield also on the trading block. It certainly isn’t guaranteed they’ll find a trade partner, at which point they’ll have a decision to make.
They can either keep him and his $26.95 million cap hit to throw a potential wrench into Trey Lance’s development. Or they can grant him his release which would make him an unrestricted free agent and open the door for him to sign wherever he’d like. Given how the relationship between the two sides has gone since the end of the NFC championship game, and the fact the 49ers still want to trade him, it’s easier to see the second scenario than the first.
