Jimmy Garoppolo Rumors: Raiders, Panthers Texans 'Likely' Interested in 49ers QB

Jimmy Garoppolo will have his suitors this offseason.

According to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders are "teams likely to be interested" in potentially signing Jimmy G.

Garoppolo, 31, had a strange year in San Francisco. The Niners made it abundantly clear that Trey Lance was going to be the starter heading into the 2022 season, and the expectation was that Garoppolo would be traded.

Instead, an offseason shoulder injury complicated trade talks, and he ultimately returned to San Francisco. He ended up starting 10 games after Lance was lost for the season during their Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks, throwing for 2,437 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his passes. The Niners were 7-3 in his starts.

But with the return of Lance and rookie sensation Brock Purdy, fresh off his late-season heroics after Garoppolo himself was lost for the season to a foot injury, there isn't any more room for Jimmy G in the Bay Area.

"No, I don't see any scenario of that," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters in February when asked if Garoppolo potentially could re-sign with the team.

"I know we have two starters on our team right now that I believe we can win with," he added. "So when you have that situation, you're not that eager to go looking around."

So Garoppolo will hit free agency, and the Panthers, Texans and Raiders would make sense as suitors. All three may potentially seek a young quarterback in April's draft, but a short-term deal with Jimmy G would allow them to bring along a rookie signal-caller slowly while adding some veteran stability at the position.

The question is whether Garoppolo would prefer to land with a potential contender or playoff team. If that's the case, the Texans certainly wouldn't be appealing, though the Panthers in the weak NFC South and the Raiders with a number of talented veteran players like Davante Adams might be more enticing.