Jimmy Garoppolo Rumors: 49ers, Commanders Had Trade in Place Before QB Had Surgery

The Washington Commanders were close to acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo from the San Francisco 49ers before the quarterback's offseason surgery, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The two sides "had the parameters of a trade agreement in place" involving multiple draft picks, per Schefter.

Washington instead pivoted toward a trade for Carson Wentz, while Garoppolo remained with the 49ers on a restructured deal as the team's backup. He will now be San Francisco's starter going forward after Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

The 49ers weren't shy about shopping Garoppolo this offseason with Lance—the 2021 No. 3 overall pick—expected to take over the starting job. General manager John Lynch also admitted the team nearly had a deal before the March surgery.

"I felt we were close in some discussions and then the decision was made to have surgery and it brought things to a screeching halt," Lynch told KNBR in May.

The 49ers were surprised by Garoppolo's decision to undergo surgery, with Lynch saying it "certainly caused a lot of teams to pause."

The recovery went according to schedule, although the quarterback did not start throwing again until late June, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. This would have been a significant risk for any team looking to acquire a starting quarterback in March. At the very least, it would've put the player behind in developing chemistry with his new team before training camp.

Washington instead went with another experienced starter in Wentz, who currently has 650 passing yards and an NFL-best seven passing touchdowns through two games.

The Carolina Panthers were also often linked with Garoppolo but instead traded for Baker Mayfield.

If Garoppolo plays well in 2022 and shows he's past his shoulder issues, there could be a bigger market when he hits free agency after this season.