If you believe that the 49ers re-signed Jimmy Garoppolo in part to bide time for a trade, that time might be now.
It took all of one week for a major quarterback injury, with Cowboys QB Dak Prescott breaking his right thumb in the season opener on Sunday night. The injury will require surgery, and is likely to keep Prescott out for six to eight weeks while he hits the injured reserve.
For the Cowboys, a team with (perhaps unrealistic) Super Bowl hopes, that means either rolling with undrafted second-year backup Cooper Rush for at least half their season, or looking elsewhere. If they’re looking elsewhere, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to gather that a call to the 49ers might be in order.
Garoppolo has a no-trade clause, but that could be waived if Jimmy G is interested in a particular destination. Should the Cowboys seek a trade and should the 49ers agree with the compensation, deciding whether to accept would be an interesting calculation for Garoppolo.
On one hand going to Dallas would provide Garoppolo the opportunity to play immediately for a team with a number of offensive weapons. It would also provide him a chance to rehabilitate his value for one of the highest profile teams in the sports.
On the other hand, Garoppolo would almost certainly lose the job by midseason, assuming all goes well with Prescott’s recovery. There’s also the matter of Trey Lance’s less than stellar debut. Although the sophomore is nowhere near being benched, perhaps Garoppolo wants to wait things out a little longer to see if maybe Lance struggles for multiple games, and puts the 49ers brass in a situation where they feel they need to make a change to salvage their season.
All in all, you’d think that if Jimmy were presented with an opportunity to play, he’d take it. The question is, are the Cowboys willing to give it to him?