A trip back to Jimmy Garoppolo’s home?
Since the 49ers quarterback is unlikely to play for the rest of the 2020 season, as he deals with an ankle injury, many fans wonder if we saw the last Garoppolo in a 49ers uniform.
ESPN NFL analyst Bill Barnwell detailed a number of possible off-season scenarios for NFL teams, and one involves the 49ers sending the 28-year-old back to the franchise that summoned him to a 2021 pick in the fifth round.
“The Niners get a draft choice instead of cutting Garoppolo, and the Eastern Illinois product meets at another conference with a technical team that desperately needs a long-term option. This is an easy win,” writes Barnwell.
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In his only full season as QB holder of the 49ers, Garoppolo took San Francisco to the Super Bowl LIV, where there were a few mistakes in overthrowing Patrick Mahomes and the powerful Kansas City Chiefs. But as injuries shortened his 2018 and 2020 campaigns, questions remain as to whether Jimmy G really is a franchise flag that could lead a team to victory in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers’ excellent defense and dominant racing game won the team’s two playoff games in 2019, as Garoppolo had just 27 passing attempts in two postseason wins en route to the Super Bowl LIV.
Injuries decimated the San Francisco squad this year as Garoppolo was joined by George Kittle, Richard Sherman and Deebo Samuel, among others who spent time in the wounded reserve. Due to the team’s diminished record in 2020, fans began looking to the loaded 2021 QB draft class for hope.
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Players like BYU’s Zach Wilson and Alabama’s Mac Jones, who was named Heisman’s finalist on Thursday, were linked to the 49ers in several simulation drafts.
With other glaring needs throughout the squad outside the QB position, a draft choice for the fifth round would give 49ers additional capital to improve along the offensive line and the secondary.
Garoppolo would have a fresh start with the organization that selected him in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, as New England did not get what they expected from Cam Newton this season.
It is not always that players are switched to one team and then switched back a few years later, but in an ideal world, this could be a win for both teams.
That is, if 49ers find the right option in QB to replace Garoppolo. There will likely be a handful of veterans and draft choices available to general manager John Lynch, but remember that he traded a second round choice for Garoppolo in 2017.
It will be a fascinating off-season for the 49ers, but with some postulating that the organization may release Garoppolo in this off-season due to his contract, this may at least bring some kind of return by Garoppolo’s shipment.