The 49ers appear to have hit a roadblock in trade discussions surrounding quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
With the NFL Draft quickly approaching, the list of suitors for the veteran quarterback has continued to dwindle and the longer he stays on the roster, it becomes more likely Garoppolo is with the team after the draft and into the summer.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport joined NFL Total Access on Monday from the owners meetings in Palm Beach, where he discussed Garoppolo's future with the team and the leverage the 49ers still have in determining where he plays next season.
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"You take a look at his contract, more than $25 million," Rapoport said. "None of it is guaranteed. So really, they hold a lot of the cards as far as where Jimmy Garoppolo is going to play in the future and how much money he's going to make.
"And he has, of course, been the subject of trade talks for the last several months. The fact that he had surgery on his throwing shoulder certainly slowed things down. In fact, before the Indianapolis Colts traded for Matt Ryan, they went back and revisited some trade talks with the San Francisco 49ers. [Those talks] did not go anywhere."
As of right now, the two teams with the most obvious need at the quarterback position are the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers. It is highly, highly unlikely that San Francisco would ever trade Garoppolo to Seattle, for obvious reasons, being that they are in the same division and are/were archrivals. After trading away superstar QB Russell Wilson earlier this offseason, the Seahawks are left with former Denver Broncos QB Drew Lock, who leaves much to be desired at the position.
For the Panthers, they currently have Sam Darnold, who showed signs of improvement early on in the 2021 season before fizzling out after sustaining a mid-season injury. Again, another signal-caller who leaves much to be desired. Carolina, however, is really the only team left that makes sense as a potential trade partner for Garoppolo. Unfortunately for the 49ers, trade talks with the Panthers never really progressed much at all.
San Francisco 49ers
"It is certainly conceivable that the 49ers, if they are not able to do a trade before the draft, just hold on to Garoppolo, potentially even maybe allow him to come to [training] camp and see where it all shakes out," Rapoport added. "A lot of options still on the table. It could be a trade. It could be a pay cut."
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General manager John Lynch said on Monday that he does not foresee the 49ers cutting Garoppolo, stating that he will either be playing for San Francisco next season, or another team.
With every passing week, it appears more and more likely that Garoppolo will remain with the 49ers at least into the summer.