Why the 49ers Will be Forced to Cut Jimmy Garoppolo
One more week.
That is roughly about all the time the 49ers have left in getting a trade done with a team for Jimmy Garoppolo.
Free agency kicks off on Mar. 16, so the 49ers need to get his contract off their books. Otherwise, the 49ers can kiss any hopes of re-signing some of their own players and outside talents goodbye.
Trading Garoppolo has become increasingly difficult since word of his shoulder surgery came out. Garoppolo will not be able to throw for his new team until training camp, which is a major red flag. Tie that in with surrendering draft capital and $27 million for him and you have yourself an extremely unattractive commodity to acquire. Teams would be insane to trade for him.
And this is why the 49ers will be forced to cut Garoppolo.
Trading for him is just way too much. If he was an alluring quarterback or even raised his trade value this past season, then he would've been traded for by now. But the fact that there is no movement and nothing but "interest" in him proves he is not a player worth trading for.
But ultimately, teams know that the 49ers need Garoppolo off the team by the time free agency arrives. Why on Earth would any team want to trade for Garoppolo when they know the 49ers' hand will be forced to cut him so they can be players in free agency?
Unless some completely delusional team REALLY wants Garoppolo, then no one is going to chase him in a trade. They're better off standing still for another week and waiting for the 49ers to cut him. That way they do not have to take on his $27 million salary cap hit and do not have to give up any draft picks. All the power and leverage is against the 49ers. They have nothing to salvage a trade with Garoppolo and it became clear from the moment Garoppolo's camp leaked the shoulder surgery news.
Not being able to trade Garoppolo will be a failure on the part of the 49ers. Part of why they rolled with him as the starter in 2021 was to raise his trade value. Clearly, that did not work out as he is assuredly going to get cut. The only way Garoppolo gets traded is for a late pick such as a sixth- or seventh-rounder, which I don't believe the 49ers will settle for.
It's a failure not to trade him, but an even larger one not to get his contract off the books to free up salary cap space. Garoppolo being cut will allow the 49ers to be active in free agency, which is largely what makes Trey Lance such a beneficial starter because of his cost-effective rookie contract.
Expect the 49ers to spin the narrative when they cut Garoppolo as doing him a "favor," as if they really had a choice.