Getty The 49ers received "no offers" for a viable trade candidate this offseason.
The San Francisco 49ers may have wanted to trade a starter from their last Super Bowl appearance, but the rest of the NFL didn’t play along. That’s according to one insider, who has revealed the Niners received “no offers” for their most viable trade candidate.
It’s hard to believe the 49ers couldn’t muster any interest during an offseason when two of their most high-profile veterans were candidates for the block. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel reportedly wanted out around the time of the 2022 draft, but the all-purpose playmaker eventually stayed put.
So did quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the player most expected to find a new home before Week 1. Garoppolo saw the starting job handed to second-year pro Trey Lance, but despite several quarterback-needy teams being mooted as potential suitors, Jimmy G restructured his deal with the 49ers on Monday, August 29.
Insider Reveals Cold Trade Market
Speaking on an edition of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast, former Green Bay Packers vice president of finance Andrew Brandt said there were “no offers” and “zero trade market” for Garoppolo:
“The 49ers had him on the market since January and there was zero market for Jimmy G. Think about that. No offers.”
@AndrewBrandt on latest @RossTuckerPod
Brandt’s level of surprise at the lack of interest in Garoppolo was compounded by his belief the 49ers “had him on the market basically since last playoffs.” That means teams around the league had the best part of eight months to run the rule over a proven starter with a record of 45-18.
For whatever reason nothing concrete ever emerged, leaving Garoppolo to ultimately re-up with his current team to be a backup. The one-year deal was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, while his colleague Field Yates detailed how the restructure saved the Niners money under the salary cap:
Jimmy Garoppolo’s renegotiated contract with the 49ers carries a cap charge of $13,991,176.
The move clears $12,958,824 in cap space for San Francisco, which was at the bottom of the NFL in cap space prior to the move.
Garoppolo has helped the 49ers out financially, but his presence means a quarterback controversy will be on a not-so slow boil throughout this season. If nothing else, his staying ratchets up the pressure on Lance to deliver, despite just two pro starts on his CV.
Unlike Lance, Garoppolo has proven himself by leading the 49ers to a place in Super Bowl LIV then returning the team to the NFC Championship Game last season. It’s the track record of a proven winner, but as the AP’s Josh Dubow points out, Garoppolo still finds himself sharing a piece of unwanted history with a former starter turned backup for the Detroit Lions:
Looks like from what I can tell that Jimmy Garoppolo will be the 1st QB since Erik Kramer for the 1992 Lions to start a conference title game one season and then be a healthy backup for the same team in Week 1 the following season
The lack of interest in a QB with Garoppolo’s pedigree is curious, not least because of what it says about how signal-callers running 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system are perceived within the game.
Shanahan Offense May Have Harmed Garoppolo Trade Chances
There are a few core traits to the Shanahan offense and they all make like easier for quarterbacks. The system is run-first thanks to a versatile ground scheme underpinned by the outside zone-stretch play.
Most of the passing is prefaced by play action and includes many rollouts designed to move the pocket and keep the quarterback free from pressure. It’s easy to see why many quarterbacks, including Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan, have also thrived in the Shanahan offense.
When the 49ers reached the Super Bowl following the 2019 season they did so behind a relentless running game and swarming pass rush. The same formula carried the team again in 2021, reinforcing a prevailing notion the 49ers have won in spite of Garoppolo, rather than because of him, a feeling illustrated by these numbers from Ian Hartitz of Pro Football Focus:
Largest difference in big-time throws vs turnover-worthy plays this season. Meant in a bad way; more mistakes than elite throws (including playoffs PFF)
T1. Jimmy Garoppolo (-16)
T1. Mike Glennon (-16)
T3. Ben Roethlisberger (-12)
T3. Tua Tagovailoa (-12)
5. Taylor Heinicke (-9)
Perhaps that thought soured teams who don’t run the same kind of offense from making a trade. There were rumors of interest from the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, according to Insider Jordan Schultz, speaking on the Pat McAfee Show.
Barring the Jets, coached by Shanahan’s former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, none of those teams run the 49ers system. Operating that offense is how Garoppolo’s become a credible starter after spending the first three seasons of his career as Tom Brady’s backup with the New England Patriots.
The system helped Garoppolo throw for almost 4,000 yards in 2019 and ’21, but nobody wants to be known as a “system quarterback.” Especially when that system is still so reliant on running the ball.
Only five teams ran the ball more than the 499 attempts Shanahan’s offense made last season. He even turned an All-Pro wideout like Samuel into a de facto running back, a role some, including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, believed prompted the player to request a trade earlier.
Samuel is still leading the Niners’ receiving corps, but there’s every reason to believe Shanahan will remain tethered to the run. A cursory look at the 49ers’ initial 53-man roster reveals a crowded running back room, and that means only one thing to Jordan Elliott of Niners Nation:
49ers keeping 5 RBs, 4 TEs, 1 FB and Trey Lance is the starting QB
Kyle Shanahan will be running the ball 45 times a game lol
Okay, so that’s in jest, but Shanahan has rarely hidden his fondness for running the ball, something NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco witnessed last season:
Kyle Shanahan told the team last night that he wanted to run the ball 80 times.
The run is how these 49ers will continue to compete for a Super Bowl, but maybe it’s also why there wasn’t more fanfare for a Garoppolo trade.