Jimmy Garoppolo was expected to leave the 49ers a year ago. He didn’t after offseason shoulder surgery caused trade suitors, including the Commanders, to back off.
This offseason, Garoppolo is for certain leaving.
He is a free agent, and coach Kyle Shanahan already ruled out the quarterback’s return.
Garoppolo is one of the top free agents at his position, so he should have a healthy market.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Panthers, Texans and Raiders are “likely” to have interest in Garoppolo. All three are in search of a starting quarterback, and all three have a top-10 pick.
So, Garoppolo could end up being a bridge quarterback rather than the long-term answer somewhere.
The Texans now are coached by former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who hired former 49ers assistant Bobby Slowik as his offensive coordinator.
“We have a process we go through,” Slowik said, via a team transcript. “Jimmy is obviously part of that process. He’s going to be a free agent. We grind through that as a coaching staff. We grind through that in the personnel department. We have conversations. I’ve had conversations with [General Manager] Nick [Caserio]. He has conversations with DeMeco. Then, Nick and DeMeco put their heads together and lay out a plan of what we want to do going forward and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Garoppolo went 7-3 in 10 starts last season and passed for 2,437 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.