Is final QB domino about to fall? … No doubt about this off-season was a crazy one for NFL QBs as an inordinate number of name guys ended up changing teams including Russell Wilson who went from Seattle to Denver, DeShaun Watson who went from Houston to Cleveland, Matt Ryan who went from Atlanta to Indianapolis, Baker Mayfield who went from Cleveland to Carolina, and Carson Wentz who went from Indianapolis to Washington. That leaves San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo as the last remaining starting quality QB still on the market. Garoppolo, of course, hasn’t been moved to date as he is still rehabbing from off-season shoulder surgery, but he is currently throwing and is expected to be cleared for full contact sometime later in August. The 49ers have also given Garoppolo permission to seek a trade for himself, but by all accounts, it does not appear as if other teams are exactly knocking the 49ers’ door off with offers. Indeed, pretty much every team that has a major issue at QB including Seattle (if Geno Smith is in the mix to be your starter you have an issue at QB), Cleveland (with DeShaun Watson likely facing a lengthy suspension), and Houston has indicated that they aren’t particularly interested at this time. They may be scared off by Garoppolo’s injury history or they may be waiting thing that the 49ers might eventually be forced to release him if they don;t get any trade takers. There is also the likelihood that teams like Houston and Seattle might prefer to wait until the 2023 draft to address the position and don’t want to mess up their first-round pick next April with too many wins, although of course nobody would just outright tank in the NFL. In the end, it may behoove the 49ers to hold onto Garoppolo until closer to the trade deadline in October just in case there is a contending team out there that needs a QB because of an injury. Stay tuned!
