Could Jimmy Garoppolo really stick around past this season? NBC Sports’ Peter King has suggested that is not out of the question.
In his Football Morning in America column, King writes that the 49ers have been “impressed” by Garoppolo this season and don’t yet know how they’ll handle him this offseason.
“I’m told the Niners have not made up their minds, at all, about how to handle their quarterback situation in 2022 and beyond. They shouldn’t be. How do you know how Garoppolo will play down the stretch, and into a playoff run if that’s the fate of this season? I’m also told the Niners have been impressed, with Garoppolo’s career on the line, with how he’s handled this weird year, with Lance being the third pick in the draft and with Garoppolo expected to just handle things like a pro. He has.
This doesn’t explain how the 49ers would navigate the fact that moving on from Garoppolo would save them $25.6 million, when they are projected to have somewhere north of $12 million in cap space.
It also doesn’t address the reports — first by Benjamin Allbright and more recently by Ian Rapoport — that the 49ers’ open secret is that they plan to trade Garoppolo after the season, barring a Super Bowl win.
But, if that is the plan, it’s harder to maintain leverage when everyone knows that it is the plan. So, if there are suggestions out there that Garoppolo may stick around past his expiration date, well, that would seem to benefit the 49ers.