With the new NFL league year a little over a week away, the Jimmy Garoppolo trade market should go from lukewarm to blazing pretty soon.
We got our latest rumor on Sunday, when ESPN's Jeremy Fowler dished on the "wildest rumor" he heard at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that has the New Orleans Saints connected to Garoppolo.
"This would be a surprise since many around the league expect Jameis Winston to return to the Saints," he wrote. "But if [Aaron] Rodgers and [Russell] Wilson aren't moved, Garoppolo becomes one of the top options available. Maybe New Orleans at least kicks this idea around."
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As Fowler noted, many expect the Saints to re-sign Jameis Winston, who played well in seven games last season for the Saints before tearing his ACL.
However, if Winston signs elsewhere or the Saints want to go in another direction, it's easy to see why Garoppolo would intrigue New Orleans at least as a stop-gap option. But Garoppolo ending up in New Orleans likely would mean things didn't play out the way the 49ers hoped in the Garoppolo trade market.
The Saints currently are $44 million over the cap, and Garoppolo's $24.2 million base salary wouldn't be the easiest to fit in. Now, as I've discussed before, the salary cap is relatively easy to manipulate. The Saints likely will restructure some contracts and convert some money into signing bonuses to give them some breathing room, but it still wouldn't be a manageable number to fit in.
New Orleans could ask the 49ers to eat some of Garoppolo's contract, but that's not something the 49ers would be interested in as they look to clear cap space to fill in the holes in their roster for next season.
San Francisco 49ers
Garoppolo and his agent, Don Yee, are also likely to negotiate a deal to a franchise that would like to keep the veteran signal-caller for more than one season. There's a possibility of Garoppolo signing an extension with the Saints and restructuring the 2022 number to give them more wiggle room. But that would only be an option if New Orleans wants him to be under center for more than one season. That's not impossible, but it feels improbable that new head coach Dennis Allen would tie himself to Garoppolo right out of the gate for more than a one-year trial run.
Then, there's the issue of compensation. How much are the Saints, who are in cap hell and headed toward some tough decisions, going to want to surrender in draft capital for a quarterback in Garoppolo, who, while solid, has clear limitations? Perhaps the down nature of the post-Tom Brady NFC South has New Orleans offer a third-round pick. But for a team that needs cheap, controllable players, that seems like a high price to pay for a middle-of-the-road quarterback.
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Could Garoppolo end up in New Orleans? Absolutely. But if that's how this all plays out, then it likely means the 49ers either couldn't find a suitor on the trade market and cut the 30-year-old quarterback, or they had to accept a back-end Day 3 pick.
Either way, it would mean the 49ers' visions of acquiring a significant asset didn't come to fruition.
With several teams in need of a veteran quarterback, the 49ers still hope to get a second- or third-round pick back in exchange for Garoppolo.
Anything is possible, but I'm not sure that deal exists. If it does, it seems unlikely the Saints, with their cap issues and upcoming roster reconstruction, would be the ones to give the 49ers the deal they desire.