Why Haven’t The 49ers Traded Jimmy Yet
When the offseason started I think Jimmy Garoppolo was easily understood as the #1 QB on the trading block (outside Watson, who was a special case). Russell Wilson was merely speculation. Wentz was not highly considered. Ryan was possible speculation due to his cap hit. The instant the 49ers lost to the Rams, partially due to Jimmy sucking, we all collectively knew he was out. The 49ers moved up to pick Trey Lance and sat him on the bench all year for the experience. Jimmy was out. Who would pick him up?
Now, a good time into free agency and the offseason, Jimmy remains a 49er. Most free agent QBs like Mariota, Trubisky, Jameis, Tyrod, have found a team. Watson, Ryan, and Wentz got traded. Cousins, Rodgers, and Brady have all rejoined their prior teams. Baker is the only big question mark besides Jimmy, and mostly because he got booted for Watson. The Browns are probably going to have to suffer a cheap trade for Baker since they lost all leverage on that one. I guess there is also mild speculation on if the Titans move on from Tannehill, but until actual things happen there, probably not worth paying attention to. The draft will also feature some QBs getting picked up, by probably by stupid Carolina or maybe Detroit. I don’t see the Giants drafting one.
So maybe we should look into the potential theories about why Jimmy is still a 49er.
Trey Lance actually sucks ass and the 49ers realize they might need to keep Jimmy around
The 49ers gave up a lot for Lance in the draft last year. Lance was seen as a project, having little experience but lots of potential. Sitting him for a year behind a guy like Jimmy made sense. But he still saw significantly less playing time for a guy who is supposedly the future. The 49ers see Lance in practice every day. They watch him throw and run the offense. They work with him in the film room. They have more knowledge of him than anyone else in the league does right now. So maybe…Trey Lance is total balls and the 49ers realize they fucked up so they have to keep Jimmy around because without him, they won’t win a damn thing and maybe if they can fix Jimmy they can swindle someone into trading for Lance later.
They are holding out to trade him to the Bucs for Tom Brady
One of those wild rumors that has just enough plausibility to be possible. Some have theorized Brady’s retirement was a stunt to try and get out. Some have theorized that he’s coming back to try and go out playing for his beloved hometown team to close out his 50-year career. While Jimmy getting ditched for Tom Brady for the second time in his career would be funny, I’m not sure it’s going to happen. The 49ers will have to give up more than Jimmy to get Tom and they don’t have a ton they’d easily part with.
Jimmy is in the dreaded Too Mediocre To Want zone
Jimmy is in that obnoxious zone of QB. He’s not a bad QB. He’s solid. He can win games. He can make the throws. He can do it. He can go to a super bowl and reach the playoffs. He’s even been healthier, somewhat. But he’s also still not good enough. He was a big part of the reason the 49ers lost that super bowl and haven’t made it back despite some stacked teams. Jimmy doesn’t elevate the team around him. He’s just bad enough that it’s obvious you need a lot around him to make it work. He’s not good enough to give a good roster the win-now push they need, especially at his cost. Jimmy isn’t going to get your team to the promised land, but he’s not bad enough to easily slide into a backup role for cheap, at least not yet. He’s cursed in the middle.
Jimmy’s shoulder injury and contract are scaring teams off
Jimmy’s health has always been a concern and he’s not cheap. This kinda goes in with the last one, but Jimmy is expensive for how good he is, and his pretty, pretty face, gorgeous abs, and supple legs are built for beauty and not brawn. His shoulder needed surgery. So on top of eating that contract and being mediocre, he might not even be healthy. The contract thing might be the biggest hurdle, because a team could certainly use Jimmy as a stopgap. The Steelers would have been better off with Jimmy than Trubisky (probably) but Trubes is cheap. The Panthers might be somewhat functional with Jimmy but they’d be paying for what, 6 QBs because of poor choices? Jesus christ fire Matt Rhule
Jimmy is three dogs in a trenchcoat
Look, I’m not saying he is, but I’m not saying he isn’t. He’s too good-looking to be real.
Jimmy is too hot and teams were afraid to ask him out because wow he has to have a team already right he’s too hot to be on the market I’m just not good enough he’ll reject me
Lotta teams slipping their number into his mail, or trying to get teams with QBs to set them up, but none of it has worked. The Jets tried to match with him on Tinder but accidentally swiped for Joe Flacco.
“Jimmy is in the dreaded Too Mediocre To Want zone”
It’s pretty much this. He has an awful contract and San Francisco is probably asking for way too much to trade him. He’s a solid QB but he’s not a franchise saver and he won’t vault a QB-needy team into Super Bowl contention. And he doesn’t carry that “pOTeNtiAL” that guys like Wentz have. Makes sense why teams are staying away and opting for cheaper/better players.
His ceiling is known. It will be difficult to give Garoppolo a better situation than he had with the Niners in 2019. He has a top tier defense and running game yet was still a perfectly average QB. The two best candidates were the Colts and Saints but the Colts got a better QB and the Saints don’t have the money.
the problem with that level of thinking is that we’ve seen other qbs who are mediocre traded as well. Alex Smith was traded twice even though everyone knew his limitations. Carson Wentz just got traded and everyone knows his problems.
The too mediocre thing is only a problem if the rest of the league has those level of qbs. This is more about a shoulder injury and a refusal to play for Washington
In 20 years we’re all going to be wondering why the Panthers haven’t fire Matt Rhule yet.
I have a feeling that Grappolo will be traded after Baker is traded. I also think that whichever team does trade Grappolo he will be a stopgap until the next best QB prospect, Grappolo will become the next Teddy Bridgewater if he hasn’t become him already.
I haven’t ruled out that Grappolo is still needed in SF because SF thinks Lance isn’t ready yet.
If Lance isnt ready after already sitting a year hes a bust. Plain and simple.
Sitting a year to get used to the pros was and is always ok but if you cant confidently roll him out year 2…He will only get playing XP by actualy playing and hes not some transcending talent like Rodgers was that you absolutely want to keep at all costs no matter if he warms the bench for 3 years. Oh yeah and he also doesnt have a SB wining first ballot hall of famer blocking the starting spot in front of him either.
The 49ers are probably just gona keep Garopollo at this point and see if someone gets injured early in the season and then sell for whatever they can get. Assuming the Lance evalutation during training camps and preseason is favourable, that is… Otherwise they are stuck anyways, they get nothing by cutting him and, sorry no hate Brownies, but Baker would NOT be an upgrade over JimmyG even if they could get Mayfield for free
Trey Lance has high potential but it is also said that he will take the longest time to develop out of the first round QB, I do agree that Lance could be labeled as a bust after this year
Thing is, can you think of even one QB who sat for longer than a year (outside of Rodgers and his special circumstances) and had a succesfull career after ?
And if you say Tom Brady Im gona find a way to personaly crawl trough the internet and smack you on the head ;D I know he technicaly matches my criteria by sitting a season and 1 game but as far as im conerned Brady is so much of an outlier in everything he shouldnt even be considered for anything statistics related
Philip Rivers. Drafted in 2004, and held out because the rookie wage scale wasn’t a thing back then. Lost a chance to compete for the starting job due to the holdout, and then Drew Brees went on to have a career year, which led to him getting franchise tagged in 2005. Rivers didn’t take over the job until 2006.
But your point stands, not many QBs sat for more than a year and were successful.
Kurt Warner? Nick Foles didn’t have an “unsuccessful” career.
Tony Romo was awesome and sat his first 3 years.
It absolutely happens.
If you sell the farm to take a player and they’re still not ready after a season, that’s a bad pick
Maybe they realized they missed a window to trade so they are waiting in case some playoff team’s QB goes down early in the season so they trade him away for something.
“Sorry to hear about ____________. He’s a great player, and I’m sure he’ll be back next year. Say, I have a guy here that could help to keep your season intact. It’ll cost you a #1 and #3, but we’ll even help with the salary to fit in under your Salary Cap.”
This was essentially what the Eagles did years ago with Sam Bradford. They spent the entire offseason and training camp and preseason with Bradford as the supposed starter. Right before the season started, Teddy Bridgewater got hurt, so the Vikings were desperate for a QB, and the Eagles joyfully shipped off Bradford and his contract, got back some picks which offset some the trade-up for Wentz in the draft, and then anointed Wentz as the starter.
Jimmy G yaoi.
The Bucs-Brady thing may have some truth to it. Probably it’s because the 49ers have a very solid team and Jimmy G couldn’t make that work. With his contract and the Niners asking price, it’s probably too steep for teams to consider seriously.
I would look at Baker before him. I personally think Mayfield can be a decent starter in the league still. He took the Browns to the playoffs. And before you talk about the team around him, please tell me how many other hydra members did that. OBJ played much better after leaving. I know that could be a knock against Baker. But let’s not act like Stefanski is anywhere near the coach that McVay is.
Anyways, I also wonder if they are hesitant to throw Lance out there yet because he doesn’t look ready. I know they’re different players with different styles, but there was a lot of talk about Wentz coming out of ND State and we see how that has gone. I know Commander Carson had some injuries, but still. The Ohio State QB knock is real, and I wouldn’t put it past teams to get all paranoid like that.
Honestly, we all know that it’s just because Jimmy is just Ryan Tannehill West. Solid at best but rarely ever spectacular. What does he care though, look at the picture! That and he’s got rings.
I’d look at Mayfield before Jimmy G too, but that’s only because the Browns’ position is untenable and they know that if they cut him, he’ll be a Pittsburgh Steeler, so they’ll have to take all the concessions. Jimmy G is a good locker room guy, if you can’t find a good taker you can keep him on your team, no harm no foul
Oh god, can you even imagine the memes if Mayfield ends up on the Steelers and has a succesfull career with them? He could take over the crown from Ben for having more wins in the Browns stadium than any Browns QB…
2 rings in 3 trips, theres guys in the hall with a worse record than that xD
Coming to think of, are there even QBs with 2 rings NOT in the hall, no matter if they were just backups when they got them?
I still think he could be a servicable to good game manager for an otherwise good team in its window. And having SB experience might be valuable too, even if its 2x as a backup. After all he got to learn how to prep for the SB from Darth Bill and Brady himself.
Problem is there are only 3 teams outside SF in that category right now: Titans, Broncos and Colts. For the Titans he would be a sidegrade so ofc they gona give it another try with Tannehill. Broncos got a definitly superior QB who is roughly in the same age group while the Colts seem to be willing to gamble on trying to squeeze 2 more good seasons out of an older QB whos been definitly better than JimmyG in the past
“Coming to think of, are there even QBs with 2 rings NOT in the hall, no matter if they were just backups when they got them?”
Jim Plunkett. AKA ‘some people’s best rationale on why Eli should not be inducted in the HoF’.
Starting QB for two of the Raiders’ Super Bowl rings. Still waiting for a HoF induction that most likely will never come.
Their numbers were the difference however even if you consider the context of times, Eli still has a much better case of getting in.
It’s definitely the last one. Of course the Jets swiped incorrectly.
At this point we should try shooting the Jets out of a very large cannon for science. They are so bad at everything they will most likely miss the planet entirely and accidentaly land on Mars instead…..