49ers Rumors: SF Will Trade Jimmy Garoppolo to Start Trey Lance; QB's Value Uncertain

Coming to the conclusion Jimmy Garoppolo has played his last game with the San Francisco 49ers is the easy part; working out a worthwhile trade involving the 30-year-old might be a little more difficult.

The MMQB's Albert Breer reported the Niners "will be trading" Garoppolo and will elevate Trey Lance to the starting role. However, Breer reported his trade value is in flux because of the uncertainty surrounding this offseason's quarterback market.

Free agency is unlikely to be fertile ground for teams in need of a QB, with Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota some of the best available.

However, a level of uncertainty surrounds the futures of Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson with their current teams. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Sunday the dynamic between Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals is "alarming," so maybe Murray could also be pried away from Arizona for the right price.

Especially since Garoppolo is in the final year of his contract, San Francisco might struggle to yield a significant return for him.

Any teams interested in Garoppolo could choose instead to wait the Niners out in the hope he's released outright. Cutting him would add $1.4 million to the 49ers' salary cap but save them $25.6 million.

If push comes to shove, it seems unlikely general manager John Lynch would carry Garoppolo's $27 million cap hit when there's so much savings to be had from moving on.

At this point, it's tough to argue Garoppolo should be viewed as an optimal starting option on a championship contender. San Francisco has given it five seasons and made the playoffs twice over that span.

His postseason performance underscored his limitations, as he threw for 962 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions in six appearances.

Garoppolo's inability to stay healthy—he has played a full season just once—is another concerning trend.

The end of his time in the Bay Area shouldn't end Jimmy G's time as an NFL starter, though. His biggest problem with the Niners was that he's merely a pretty good passer when an elite signal-caller is often needed to get a franchise over the top.

Garoppolo would be a good short-term option for a handful of teams around the league. He threw for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2021.

In what could be a buyer's market at quarterback, though, that could provide little advantage for Lynch in trade negotiations.