There has been plenty of speculation as to whether or not the Carolina Panthers could be a potential trade destination for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but a third-round pick during the 2022 NFL Draft on Friday night complicated things even further.
With the 94th overall pick, Carolina selected Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral and added another signal-caller to its depth chart after trading up in the third round.
When the Panthers picked North Carolina offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu at No. 6 overall on Thursday, the door for a Garoppolo trade remained open. But when the team addressed its quarterback situation on Friday, Carolina all but slammed that door.
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The Panthers’ selection after Ekwonu was originally slated to be No. 137, but they gave away the pick and a 2023 third-rounder to the New England Patriots so they could grab one of the quarterbacks still available.
Carolina now has Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker and Corral on its roster at the position, and the Day 2 pick decreased the likelihood that they could pursue a veteran quarterback after the draft.
Before they picked Corral, Carolina was rumored to be negotiating with the Cleveland Browns for Baker Mayfield. But the two teams reportedly couldn’t come to terms on how to divvy up Mayfield’s $18.8 million in guaranteed money next season, and the talks came to a halt.
The Panthers were -- and possibly could still be -- one of two teams with an obvious need at quarterback, the other being the Seattle Seahawks. A trade by the 49ers to their NFC West rival is extremely doubtful, so Carolina figured to be the last-chance landing spot when it comes to dealing Garoppolo.
But with Darnold’s $18.58 million in fully-guaranteed money still on the books and another quarterback in Corral now on the roster, San Francisco’s ship for a Garoppolo trade to the Panthers appears to have sailed.
San Francisco 49ers
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There’s still a (very unlikely) chance that the Panthers will be able to move Darnold, but the 49ers’ options continue to dwindle as they look for a way to unload Garoppolo’s $25 million in 2022 cap space. The Panthers figured to be San Francisco’s final shot to move the quarterback after the draft and before training camp.
Now, it looks like San Francisco will have to wait even longer to find a trade destination for last season’s starter in order to make way for Trey Lance -- if the team is able to move him at all.