4 potential trade destinations for when the 49ers finally deal away Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo's free to seek a trade from the 49ers. The timing's not great, but there will be (a few) suitors.

Jimmy Garoppolo’s time as a San Francisco 49er is coming to an end. Not only is 2022 his final season under contract, but the club already has his replacement lined up. San Francisco general manager John Lynch traded three first round picks in order to select North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance in 2021.

Lance played sparingly behind Garoppolo last fall as he made the jump from the FCS to NFL. Now it appears the Niners are ready to take his training wheels off and let him ride solo. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the team has given Garoppolo and his agents permission to seek a trade.

Garoppolo is in a tough spot. He’s a quarterback with a career 33-14 record and a trip to Super Bowl 54 on his resume. His propensity for bad throws and inability to create plays downfield, however, have kept the 49ers from turning a talented roster into a Lombardi Trophy.

Additionally, teams in need of quarterbacks have had all offseason to sort that out, ranging from free agency to the draft to the Panthers’ Baker Mayfield trade of two weeks ago. San Francisco would also have to likely agree to pay a significant chunk of the $26.9 million he’s owed for the upcoming season, and the benefit of the cap space he creates is negated by the fact most of the league’s available free agents and trade targets have been snapped up.

This all creates a limited market for a flawed passer with training camp looming. However, it doesn’t mean there aren’t interested parties. While the result will likely look more like the meager Day 3 draft considerations the Browns received for dumping Mayfield (and absorbing a chunk of his contract), there are teams still in need of an experienced one-year rental at quarterback.

So let’s figure out who they are.