Jimmy Garoppolo has confirmed that he expects to leave the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason.
The 30-year-old signal caller saw his 2021 season end in playoff disappointment on Sunday as the 49ers blew a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead to lose 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Garoppolo has one year remaining on his current contract in San Francisco, and trading him would save the Niners around $25million on the 2022 salary cap.
The news out of San Francisco adds further lustre to what is shaping up to be a fascinating offseason for the NFL trade market.
A number of high-profile quarterbacks could be on the move, headed by reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers, Seattle superstar Russell Wilson and Houston’s Deshaun Watson.
Garoppolo in San Francisco
After being traded to the Bay Area by the New England Patriots in 2017 for a second-round draft pick, Garoppolo made an immediate impression with the 49ers.
The former Eastern Illinois standout led San Francisco to wins in his first five games after the team had made a disastrous 1-10 start to 2017. That earned him a blockbuster $137.5million five-year contract in early 2018.
Since then ‘Jimmy G’ has proved to be a pretty successful game manager when healthy, leading the Niners to the NFC Championship Game twice. They lost to Kansas City in Super Bowl LIV, again after blowing a fourth-quarter lead.
Twice though during his spell in San Francisco, Garoppolo has seen seasons devastated by serious injury - first by a torn ACL in 2018 and then by an ankle sprain in 2020.
Lance the future in the Bay Area
Garoppolo’s future with the Niners appeared to be in grave doubt in early 2021 when the team traded up in the first round of the NFL Draft to take North Dakota State prodigy Trey Lance at #3 overall.
The Niners did dabble with Lance at times during the 2021 season, but appeared to decide that right now Garoppolo provided the best chance for a talented roster to win.
On Sunday though, doubts about his ability to really elevate his play when it mattered surfaced once again as he went 3 of 9 for 30 yards and an interception in the fourth quarter.
In six playoff starts, Garoppolo has a passer rating of just 28.0 in the final period. A miserable return just at the time when post-season legends are built. Now it appears his spell in red and gold is about to come to an end.
He told a media Zoom call this week: "I was talking to John (Lynch, 49ers GM) yesterday about finding the right destination and whatever the future holds, just doing it the right way.
"I've got a long career ahead of me. I'm excited about it. I'm excited about the opportunities to come. I just want to go to a place where they want to win.”
Garoppolo, who had won two Super Bowl rings as Tom Brady’s backup in New England before moving to California, ended the call with a message to Niner fans:
"It's been a hell of a ride. I love you guys. See ya."