When and where the 49ers might trade Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo will not be a member of the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. Although Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch stopped short of making that announcement during their final press conferences on February 1, Garoppolo left little doubt.

“Yeah. We’ve talked a little bit, I think more will happen in the days that come, but yeah, these guys have been very upfront about the whole thing. I was talking to John yesterday just about finding the right destination and whatever the future holds just doing it the right way,” said Garoppolo.

I’ve got a long career ahead of me. So, I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the opportunities to come. I just want to go to a place where they want to win. I mean, that’s really what I’m in this game for. I’m here to play football here, to win football games. And as long as I’ve got that and good people around me, I think the rest will take care of itself.”

The questions now become when and where will Garoppolo be traded.

San Francisco is currently $4.5 million over the salary cap for 2022. This provides a good idea of when Garoppolo will be traded as the 49ers must reduce their cap liabilities by the start of the NFL’s new league year March 16.

While San Francisco will look to have a trade in place by this time, nothing can become official until this date meaning they will need to restructure the contracts of other players. The closer to March 16 the 49ers move Garoppolo the less impact it will have on rebuilding the roster for the new season. 

Now for where Garoppolo could be headed.

Among the destinations that have been thrown around are Tampa Bay, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Denver.

Tampa Bay will be looking to bring in a quarterback to replace Tom Brady and Pittsburgh finds itself needing to replace Ben Roethlisberger. Meanwhile, Washington and Denver both have young quarterbacks in Taylor Heinicke and Drew Lock but could be looking to bring in a veteran option.

Another possible destination for Garoppolo may be Indianapolis. The Colts traded for Carson Wentz last offseason; however general manager Chris Ballard stopped short of committing to Wentz next season.

“At the time, we felt it was the right decision,” Ballard said following the Colts missing the playoffs. “I’m not going to make a comment on who is going to be here next year and who is not.”

On Sunday morning the prospects of Wentz returning to Indianapolis did not appear to have improved.

There’s a belief that #Colts QB Carson Wentz will “‘probably” be traded or released before March 19th, per @mortreport. That’s when $15M in base salary becomes guaranteed. His future in Indianapolis looks “bleak.”

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 13, 2022

A trade to Indianapolis also fits what Garoppolo is hoping to find in his next team.

“I was talking to John just about finding the right destination and whatever the future holds just doing it the right way,” said Garoppolo on February 1.

“I’ve got a long career ahead of me. So I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the opportunities to come. I just want to go to a place where they want to win. I mean, that’s really what I’m in this game for. I’m here to play football here, to win football games. And as long as I’ve got that and good people around me, I think the rest will take care of itself.”

The Colts have posted a winning record in three of four seasons under Frank Reich and have a similar makeup of the 49ers teams in recent years.

With a strong run game led by Jonathan Taylor and a defense that gave up the ninth fewest points in the NFL, Garoppolo may be the piece necessary to take Indianapolis deep into the playoffs.