We are two weeks from training camp and Jimmy Garoppolo is still a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Will he ever depart? Is time even real? This, and many other questions will either be answered, or not, in the coming weeks.
With Baker Mayfield moved to Carolina, the Deshaun Watson legal situation remains the most evident avenue for Garoppolo to be moved via trade.
But ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler intimated that the Seattle Seahawks could be a team to watch for Garoppolo.
Fowler said some executives around the league see the 49ers as “stuck” because his deal will have to be renegotiated in a trade, and there are limited suitors for him. Could Seattle be in the mix?
“I’m told that internally they have discussed the possibility of Garoppolo playing for them,” Fowler said. “They’ve done their film work to see how he would fit. Tricky, certainly, to do a trade inside the NFC West. But the 49ers and Seattle know they can maybe sort of wait this out because the 49ers have limited cap space right now, I think around $5 million.
“They want to re-sign Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel. To do that, they need some of Garoppolo’s $24 million in base salary. Seattle probably knows that which means maybe they won’t try to make a trade, they’ll just wait for the 49ers to release him.”
As we get later in the summer, the 49ers may be playing a losing game of chicken, barring an unforeseen injury to a starting quarterback on a contending roster.
For now, Garoppolo is still on the team, with all eyes on the Watson situation and start of training camp.