After trading up for #3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Matt Maiocco says Jimmy Garoppolo’s future in San Francisco is coming to an end soon. How soon though? Maiocco explains what the 49ers’ plan is at QB going forward.
The San Francisco 49ers are playing hardball on the Jimmy Garoppolo front ... for now.
Niners general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan recently insisted they plan to keep the 29-year-old quarterback despite trading up to the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, where they seem destined to select his replacement.
San Francisco could stick with Garoppolo as its starter and let the rookie develop for a season. But if said rookie emerges as the 49ers' QB of the future, it's hard to imagine the team paying Garoppolo $25 million to be a backup.
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NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco laid out a more realistic scenario using an interesting trade comparison: Alex Smith.
In January 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs sent Smith to Washington for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a 2018 third-round draft pick. The move paved the way for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City after Mahomes spent his rookie year backing up Smith.
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Using that blueprint, Maiocco laid out a potential deal to send Garoppolo back to New England.
Winovich has 11 sacks through his first two seasons and has upside as a talented pass rusher. But you'd have to think the Patriots would consider this deal to reunite with Garoppolo, who despite his injury history would be an upgrade over Cam Newton in New England. The Patriots also paid up for edge defender Matthew Judon this offseason, which would make Winovich more expendable.
Perry: What might it cost for Patriots to land Garoppolo?
The 49ers may not view Smith -- who was 33 at the time of his trade -- as an equal comparison to Garoppolo. But they're bound to move on from Garoppolo's massive contract at some point, and landing an impact player and a third-round pick would be decent value for an injury-prone QB approaching 30.
The Patriots would need to do some serious cap maneuvering to make such a deal work (as our Phil Perry explained recently), but it's an interesting thought experiment as New England mulls its options at QB.
