The 49ers want to trade Jimmy Garoppolo, dumping his $25 million salary, but his surgically repaired right shoulder won’t allow him to throw until sometime this summer. No team is trading for Garoppolo with that salary and with the quarterback still rehabbing his throwing shoulder.
The 49ers, though, were “close” to moving Garoppolo before his March 8 surgery that took the team by surprise.
“I felt we were close in some discussions and then the decision was made to have surgery and it brought things to a screeching halt,” 49ers General Manager John Lynch said on KNBR on Monday, via Jake Hutchinson of KNBR. “We either want to have Jimmy playing for us, which we’re all right with, or we want him to get the value.”
The 49ers traded up to draft Trey Lance with the third overall selection in 2021. Lance is expected to take over the starting job this season after Garoppolo started 15 of 17 games last season. So, $25 million for a backup quarterback is not ideal, and neither is having Lance looking over his shoulder at Garoppolo.
But for now, no one wants Garoppolo, and the 49ers don’t plan to cut him.