Six possible landing spots for Jimmy G if 49ers move on
As the 49ers turn their attention toward the 2021 season, they will need to look long and hard at the quarterback position.When Jimmy Garoppolo has been healthy, the 49ers have won a lot of games. There's no doubt Garoppolo has his limitations, but he has played well in Kyle Shanahan's system and did lead the 49ers to a berth in Super Bowl LIV last season.However, concerns about Garoppolo's ceiling, his inability to stay healthy and his penchant to turn the ball over could lead Shanahan and general manager John Lynch to cut bait with Garoppolo in favor of a quarterback who would have a higher upside in Shanahan's system.Should the 49ers elect to move on from Garoppolo, which is far from a certainty, there will be no shortage of suitors for a quarterback who is 24-8 in his career as a starting quarterback.Let's take a look at those who will have a rose waiting for Garoppolo should he hit the open market.
Let's get the obvious one out of the way.
We know Bill Belichick planned for Jimmy Garoppolo to take the reins from Tom Brady, but Brady never tailed off as expected, forcing Belichick to trade Garoppolo to the 49ers.
Year 1 of life AB (After Brady) hasn't gone great for the Patriots. The Cam Newton experience has yielded mixed results and Belichick isn't tied to him long term.
Easy to see Belichick, Garoppolo and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels getting the band back together if the 49ers move on.
Here's another comfortable landing spot.
The Bears no doubt have seen all they have to from Mitchell Trubisky. Nick Foles wasn't much better. Chicago likely will finish with too many wins to draft the likes of Trey Lance or Zach Wilson, so the hometown guy in Garoppolo is an easy fix.
The Bears have a solid defense and a top wide receiver in Allen Robinson (should they keep him around). Adding an above-average starter in Garoppolo and finding a better coach than Matt Nagy should put them right back in the playoff hunt.
The Colts gave Philip Rivers $25 million to hand the ball off, throw 5-yard slants and not turn the ball over. But he's not going to be good enough to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.
Garoppolo, for all his flaws, is a much better quarterback than Rivers at this point in his career. Garoppolo would allow Frank Reich to open up the offense and make them the favorites in the AFC South as the Texans rebuild and the Titans try to fix their suddenly leaky defense.
We know Ron Rivera is OUT on Dwayne Haskins.
Kyle Allen is a good backup quarterback and Alex Smith has been a nice story, but he's not the quarterback he once was following his gruesome leg injury.
The Football Team is competing for the NFC East title and will miss out on the top quarterbacks in the class if they punch their ticket to the playoffs.
Enter: Garoppolo.
The Football Team has a few good young playmakers in Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson, who could thrive with a quarterback like Garoppolo running the show.
The NFC East is up for grabs every year, but the WFT could become the front-runners if they add Garoppolo.
John Elway's search for a franchise quarterback continues.
After an impressive finish to the 2019 season, Drew Lock has been less than stellar in 2020.
The Broncos likely will give Lock one more season to prove he's the guy. But if Garoppolo is on the open market, expect Elway to bring him in to push Lock and, in all likelihood, take his job.
To contend in the AFC West, you must have a quarterback. Garoppolo could be exactly what the Broncos are looking to find.
Here is the wild-card team.
The Lions have Matthew Stafford, who continues to be a good NFL quarterback. But they could be looking to undergo a full rebuild after firing Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn.
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh reportedly is at the top of the Lions' wish list for a new head coach.
If Saleh takes over in Detroit and elects to start from scratch by trading Stafford, it wouldn't be surprising to see him bring in Garoppolo to run the offense as he rebuilds the roster from the ground up.
