(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
If you weren’t sure before Sunday, it’s clear now that the 49ers need at least one quarterback.
Even if they elect to keep Jimmy Garoppolo, something that is far from a certainty, Nick Mullens as a backup isn’t going to cut it, especially considering Garoppolo’s health issues over the years.
Where they go from here is anybody’s guess. They could keep Garoppolo and try and draft a quarterback in the first round. They could also keep Garoppolo and look to free agency to find a veteran for him to compete with or back him up. Or they could cut Garoppolo, saving $23.6 million for next year, and search the free agency or trade market for a replacement.
If they elect to go the latter route, one of the quarterbacks who will almost certainly be available is Carson Wentz, an MVP candidate in 2017 who has fallen off the face of the Earth in 2020, losing his starting job with the Eagles last week. Still, Wentz is 28 years old, and could be an intriguing buy-low candidate via trade for a team that is interested.
Because of that, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put the 49ers on a list of four teams that are potential destinations for Wentz this offseason. The problem? For a “buy-low” candidate, Wentz is expensive, costing even more than Garoppolo, owed $25.4 million next season.
It’s for that reason that Barnwell believes Wentz to the Niners won’t happen. Via Barnwell:
I wrote recently about how the 49ers are in difficult cap straits next year, which makes the possibility of fitting Wentz into their lineup a near impossibility. Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman said this week that he expects to leave the 49ers after the season as a result of their cap concerns, and he’s not the only player who will be on the way out.
If the Niners want to make a change at quarterback, though, they have the flexibility to create significant short-term cap space by cutting Jimmy Garoppolo. Releasing the oft-injured Garoppolo would free up $23.6 million in cap space in 2021, a close match for the $25.4 million cap figure Wentz would occupy after being traded. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in October that it was only a matter of time before Wentz turned things around; maybe he meant a matter of a move instead.
It seems if the Niners want to shell out $25 million for a non-sure thing, they might as well stick with Garoppolo, who despite his recent struggles has been better than Wentz more recently. If the 49ers are going to pay a premium, it would stand to reason that they’d only do so for an obvious upgrade. At this point, Wentz is far from that.