The Seattle Seahawks may be shopping for a new quarterback with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reporting the team “has done homework” on adding rival San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo. This would go counter to the Seahawks’ repeated insistence that the team will begin training camp with Drew Lock and Geno Smith battling for the starting gig.
“You have Seattle that’s still out there,” Fowler explained during a July 11, 2022 edition of “SportsCenter.” “They were sort of implicated in the Baker Mayfield situation, didn’t make that move.
“I’m told that internally they have discussed the possibility of Garoppolo playing for them. They’ve done their film work to see how he would fit. Tricky certainly to do a trade inside the NFC West but the 49ers and Seattle know they can maybe sort of wait this out because the 49ers have limited cap space right now, I think around $5 million.
“They want to re-sign Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel, to do that they need some of Garoppolo’s $24 million in base salary. Seattle probably knows that which means maybe they won’t try to make a trade. They’ll just wait for the 49ers to release him.”
Here’s a look at Fowler breaking down the Seahawks’ interest in Garoppolo.
From @SportsCenter with @HannahStormESPN
*Deshaun Watson timeline
*49ers’ hurdles in a Jimmy Garoppolo trade
*Seattle has done its homework on the QB, at least worth watching here.
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The 49ers Can Move Off of the Majority of Jimmy G’s $24.2 Million by Releasing QB
If a deal does go down between the Niners and Seahawks, we could expect a trade similar to the return the Browns received from the Panthers for Baker Mayfield. Carolina sent Cleveland a fifth-round pick which can be bumped up to a fourth rounder if Mayfield plays at least 70% of the snaps in 2022, per ESPN Jake Trotter.
The Browns agreed to pay $10.5 million of Mayfield’s initial $18.8 million salary. The former No. 1 pick also took less money which Mayfield can make up by hitting certain incentives. All factors considered, the Panthers will start out paying Mayfield a $4.85 million salary which could increase based on certain incentives.
Garoppolo’s situation is different as the Niners have an escape clause in the quarterback’s deal which would allow San Francisco to move off of Garoppolo’s $24.2 million salary by releasing the veteran while only taking a $1.4 million cap hit, per Spotrac. As Fowler alluded, Seattle knows this potentially creating a game of chicken between the Seahawks and Niners. Seattle could wait to see if Garoppolo is released but this opens up the risk of the quarterback signing with another team as a free agent.
San Francisco Only Has a Small Number of Interested Teams: Report
The challenge for San Francisco is Seattle may only be bidding against themselves in trade talks with all the other quarterback musical chairs accounted for around the league. Garoppolo’s offseason shoulder surgery likely contributed to the lack of demand for the quarterback. Fowler also reported that the general thought around NFL front offices is that the 49ers are “stuck” given the situation and only have a “pretty small” number of interested teams.
“A few executives I spoke to believe the 49ers are a bit stuck here because they need Garoppolo to pass a physical coming off the shoulder surgery,” Fowler noted. “They need to renegotiate his contract with that new team on that $24 million salary and the pool of suitors right now seems to be pretty small.”
Garoppolo’s biggest challenge throughout his career has been staying healthy, missing 10 games in 2020. The quarterback was able to not only stay on the field last season but beat out former No. 3 pick Trey Lance to retain the QB1 spot.
Garoppolo earned a solid 74.9 grade from Pro Football Focus while throwing for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions completing 68.3% of his passes during his 15 contests in the 2021-22 season. The veteran signal-caller also added a career-high three rushing touchdowns proving to be a slight running threat inside the redzone.
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Insider Drops Bombshell Report on Seahawks’ Interest in Adding New QB