Report: 49ers May Not Sign Jimmy Garoppolo to New Contract; Target Kirk Cousins

Despite trading a second-round pick to acquire quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo before the NFL trade deadline, the San Francisco 49ers may not sign him to a long-term deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Per that report, "With a potential pick among the top two in the 2018 NFL draft and roughly $60 million in salary-cap space in the offseason, the 49ers ultimately could decide to draft their quarterback of the future or use some of their money to sign a free-agent quarterback such as Washington's Kirk Cousins."

If the 49ers decided to address the position in the draft or free agency this offseason, they still have the option of using the franchise tag on Garoppolo and dangling him in a trade.

The report comes before Garoppolo has thrown a single pass for the 49ers. The 26-year-old has appeared in just 17 games in his NFL career, throwing for 690 yards and five touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes as Tom Brady's backup with the New England Patriots. 

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Niners don't intend on rushing Garoppolo into starting duty. He'll serve as C.J. Beathard's backup Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, and the team doesn't intend to put him on the field until he's had the opportunity to learn the playbook and familiarize himself with Kyle Shanahan's scheme.

And Shanahan said Garoppolo may not even play this season.

"I can't promise you guys that he'll play this year," Shanahan said earlier in the week, per Nick Shook of NFL.com. "I know that we have a guy that we're excited about, and I know has the ability to help us and help this team in the future. That's what I mean by, 'Well, we didn't do this just to save this year.' We did this because we feel this will improve our team and our organization."

If Garoppolo never plays and the Niners then add a quarterback in the draft or sign a player like Cousins, it calls into question why the team would trade a second-round pick for him.

Schefter reported the team believes it could potentially get more than a second-rounder in return if it traded Garoppolo next year after franchise-tagging him. But in a conflicting report, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote Sunday the Niners and Garoppolo were "open to the prospect of a long-term deal, a process that could begin as soon as next week."

Garappolo is either an asset for the 49ers and a consolation prize if they can't add a player they feel is a franchise cornerstone at the position this offseason, or he indeed is viewed as the future.

Regardless, it's a lot of noise surrounding a player who hasn't taken a snap for the team to this point.