The 49ers are quickly running out of trade partners for Jimmy Garoppolo. The Colts, once believed to be a prime candidate for a swap, are set to trade for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. That takes Indianapolis off the table and leaves very few teams in the market for a starter.
While the Falcons now have an opening under center, it stands to reason that head coach Arthur Smith may be looking for a young quarterback he can mold and develop in his second season with the head job in Atlanta. They’re on the table though, which is at least some good news for San Francisco.
Other teams that might look to acquire Garoppolo are the Panthers, Saints and Seahawks.
In doubly bad news for San Francisco, not only are possible trade partners running thin, the price isn’t likely to get where they’d like. The Falcons received a 2022 third-round pick from the Colts for Ryan. He isn’t an MVP-caliber player anymore but it’s hard to believe many teams are going to be willing to pay more for Garoppolo’s services than the Colts did for a soon-to-be 37-year-old Ryan.
On top of all this, the Browns haven’t traded Baker Mayfield yet. Mayfield will take one of the openings, which leaves three teams possibly in the hunt for a QB. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if all of the teams left post-Mayfield trade would look to add a rookie via the draft. Both Carolina and Seattle pick in the top 10.
It might be strong to call this offseason a nightmare situation for the 49ers, but it’s certainly reaching the point where it might behoove them to release Garoppolo instead of continuing to explore a rapidly dwindling trade market.