Although 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan said during this off-season that Jimmy Garoppolo will remain his defender in 2021, there appears to be a team that expects San Francisco to change its mind and act as a defender.
The New England Patriots, according to Greg Bedard of The Boston Sports Journal, want to meet with Garoppolo.
“From what I realized when talking to people this week, Jimmy Garoppolo is still a long way from his Plan A,” Bedard said on the “Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast” earlier this week. “That, if they had to draw, exactly the ideal situation for the Patriots next season, is Jimmy G coming back here. And, of course, it all depends on the 49ers doing something.”
In the last off-season, the 49ers flirted with the idea of leaving Garoppolo before running back with the man who helped them reach Super Bowl LIV. But after a 2020 season full of injuries, much of the 49ers fan base is ready for a new defender to step on the scene.
There were rumors that the 49ers were linked to Matthew Stafford before he was traded by the Detroit Lions to the Los Angeles Rams by Jared Goff and several choices in the draft.
The disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback, Deshaun Watson, has been mentioned as a possibility for the 49ers, but as of now, his current team has no plans to negotiate the choice of the 2017 draft of the first round.
The 49ers could select one of the quarterback candidates in the NFL’s 2021 Draft, but that could mean giving up future draft choices to move up.
Todd McShay of ESPN launched his updated Mock Draft and he projects that the 49ers will be traded up to 9th position with the Denver Broncos to select Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
“The Broncos could add something along the lines of an extra second round (No. 43) and perhaps a first or second round of 2022, in addition to this year’s No. 12 choice,” McShay wrote. “It is difficult to say at this point how anxious the Niners will be for a quarterback.”
If the 49ers managed to get a first-rate defender in the first round of the April draft, they would probably be willing to leave Garoppolo.
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And that would be music for the Patriots’ ears. After losing the Tom Brady franchise icon to the free agency last spring, they hired former NFL MVP Cam Newton. This union did not go as planned and New England ended with a record 7-9, losing the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
But any chance of choosing the Patriots’ second round in 2014 to return to New England this spring depends on the 49ers making an unexpected move for a quarterback. Until that happens, Pats’ longtime coach Bill Belichick will only have to dream of meeting with Garoppolo.
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