Jimmy Garoppolo Still Expected To Happen

Jimmy Garoppolo is still expected to be traded by the end of the month, but don’t expect it to be to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reached out to Garoppolo’s agent, Don Yee, regarding talk the Bucs had enquired about the possibility of acquiring the San Francisco 49ers quarterback to once again serve as the heir apparent to Tom Brady, as he did for the New England Patriots.

Yee rejected the speculation, telling Pelissero: “He’s progressing well and on schedule [in his recovery from shoulder surgery]. We’re optimistic about the upcoming season. Over the weekend, a report came out that I had spoken to a media member about his future, but the report was false.”

Pelissero added the expectation around the league is that Garoppolo will be traded to a new team by end of the month.

Options for Garoppolo appear to be thin on the ground after the Carolina Panthers struck a deal with the Cleveland Browns to acquire Baker Mayfield and likely make him their starting quarterback.

The Browns loom as a potential landing spot should Deshaun Watson receive a lengthy suspension, but it’s dubious as to whether they would view Garoppolo as enough of an upgrade on Jacoby Brissett to justify parting with more capital to acquire him.

If the Browns are out of the question then it would leave Garoppolo facing the prospect of being acquired by a team to be their backup or the Niners having to wait to see if a training camp injury forces a team into action, assuming they have not simply released him by that point.

While he is a polarising quarterback, being in such a situation is not an accurate reflection of Garoppolo’s qualities.

When healthy, Garoppolo has played at a very efficient level. Last season, he ranked fourth in Expected Points Added per play, per rbsdm.com, and fifth in Football Outsiders DVOA. Yet the shoulder surgery issue that essentially ended his hopes of being traded to start for a competitive team early in the offseason encapsulates the overriding problem with Garoppolo, which has always been durability.

By investing in Garoppolo, a team would be acquiring a quarterback who processes quickly, is decisive in getting rid of the football and can deliver it accurately to intermediate areas. However, they would also be putting their faith in a signal-caller whose decision-making often leaves much to be desired and whose explosive play production is down in large part to Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

Throw in the fact Garoppolo has only completed one full season in his NFL career, then that trade-off becomes a difficult one to make in the wake of his shoulder surgery.

Garoppolo’s play and results are worthy of better than the situation in which he finds himself. However, it is the injury misfortune that has defined his career that leaves the Niners facing up to a paltry return for his services if they can avoid cutting him and Garoppolo still playing a waiting game to find out where his next shot will come from.