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There are fans of both the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys now on pins and needles wondering what will become of Jimmy Garoppolo once again.
In the wake of Dak Prescott needing surgery on his right thumb that he injured during the Cowboys’ 19-3 loss on NFL opening day to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the idea of Garoppolo wearing the star on his helmet was brought up by fans and analysts on the late evening of Sunday, September 11.
Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho was one who highly suggested Jerry Jones should make a run at the new No. 2 quarterback for the 49ers. The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill was another who wondered if Dallas should go after Garoppolo.
Even 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed that rumor in his Monday, September 12 press conference with the Bay Area media.
But one analyst hinted at a unique trade idea that involves both teams — and gives the 49ers a seven-time Pro Bowler in exchange.
Trade Idea Helps Fill Significant Offensive Need
Brad Graham, who runs @TheSFNiners and is set to make regular appearances on KRON 4 San Francisco breaking down the 49ers, sparked quite the online conversation by hinting at this trade idea:
Long story short: Dallas gets Garoppolo, the 49ers get Zack Martin.
Yes, that Zack Martin — the one who has played in seven total Pro Bowls, has been named a First Team All-Pro selection five times in his career including the 2021 season, was nominated to the league’s All-Decade team of the 2010s and even earned the Pinstripe Bowl Most Valuable Player award in 2013.
One fan gave a strong five-word reaction to this idea Graham presented.
“I’m definitely doing this trade,” the fan responded.
Another loved the proposal.
“Brad, I love you man. What a great idea for a trade,” that fan said to Graham.
One more fan tagged general manager John Lynch’s Twitter account.
Could This Idea Become Impossible to Pull Off?
So here’s where things stand financially between the 31-year-old Martin and Dallas.
For starters, the Cowboys locked him up on a mega six-year, $84 million deal that included a $20 million signing bonus that he signed back in 2018. He’s now got until the 2024 season for that deal to expire and become an unrestricted free agent. But according to Spotrac, the now 9-year veteran is set to have a spike in base salary: Going from $1,641,000 for 2022 to jumping to $13,500,000 in 2023.
From a team cap standpoint, Dallas has the fourth-highest cap space at $12.4 million. Moving away from Martin would obviously clear up some space.
But then comes this question: Are the Cowboys willing to take on the $7 million salary that Garoppolo now has after restructuring his $137.5 million deal he once signed in 2017, which included a base salary of $24.2 million?
There’s another question: Say the 49ers do add Martin, what becomes of rookie Spencer Burford?
It was Burford who manned right guard for the 49ers and delivered a solid all-around performance despite the nine-point loss. Per Pro Football Focus, Burford turned in the best pass blocking grade at 87.8. His only mistake was a false start, but that came in a noisy environment and is considered a common rookie mistake for offensive linemen in their first NFL action.
And if you catch No. 74 in this clip, Burford took on the longer Dominque Robinson and gave Trey Lance enough time to throw.
Meanwhile, Martin was the top graded pass blocker for a Cowboys offense that struggled throughout the 16-point loss: Earning a 81.7 grade by allowing one pressure on 50 pass blocking attempts.
Burford had a stellar debut. Martin, though, is a hard guy to say no to should he become a tradeable asset. But as Garoppolo’s name resurfaces among trade rumblings, proposals like this will surface and look enticing.
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