Jimmy Garoppolo Expected To Be Traded In July?

With Baker Mayfield finally being moved to the Panthers, the 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo domino looms. Carolina completing its long-rumored deal with Cleveland removes a Garoppolo destination from the equation, giving San Francisco an interesting task in the weeks to come.

This process could well end with the 49ers releasing Garoppolo, but Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes the expectation around the league is for a trade to be completed by the end of July. Garoppolo remains on schedule to resume throwing soon, according to his agent, who became the latest to refute a weekend connection between the ninth-year quarterback and the Buccaneers (Twitter links).

[RELATED: How will 49ers’ Garoppolo saga conclude?]

Facing the prospect of carrying a $26.95MM Garoppolo cap hit (the NFL’s seventh-highest 2022 cap figure), the 49ers will need to have that number off their books before it translates to a vested-veteran guarantee in Week 1. Any Garoppolo trade talks will involve lowering that number, as teams can use Garoppolo’s upcoming guarantee date against the 49ers. San Francisco will let Garoppolo negotiate his contract with other teams to facilitate a trade. Garoppolo making it to free agency would give the veteran more options, but the longer this goes, the more difficult it will be for the 30-year-old QB to maximize his opportunity with a team.

The end-of-July date is interesting. A better deal may emerge in August, with the prospect of teams’ QB depth charts being affected by injuries being more likely then than it will be in July. Garoppolo’s right shoulder surgery has delayed San Francisco’s goal of unloading its former starter. Waiting on a potential injury to change a team’s QB outlook would seemingly benefit the 49ers, as it did the Eagles six years ago. Teddy Bridgewater‘s severe knee injury prompted the Vikings to trade first- and fourth-round picks for Sam Bradford, whose Philadelphia exit cleared the way for Carson Wentz. Garoppolo’s Bay Area departure will begin the latest North Dakota State-produced prospect’s QB1 run.

Bradford’s contract was easier for the Vikings to absorb, with the Eagles having already paid their 2015 trade acquisition an $11MM offseason roster bonus. The Vikings were only responsible for $7MM of Bradford’s salary in 2016. While a team seeing its starter go down during camp could create desperation, the 49ers likely will still be asked to pay some of Garoppolo’s salary. Absent an injury, the Garoppolo market is cold.

Trey Lance is on track to take the reins for the 49ers. The Division I-FCS product cannot be viewed as a sure thing, after an atypical college career and some rookie-year scuffling, but the price the 49ers paid to acquire him points to a starter ascent. Lance struggling in camp could lead to the 49ers keeping the Garoppolo door open, on a price tag that is not $26.95MM, but the team remains hopeful it will find a way to move Garoppolo off its roster ahead of that point.

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