Jimmy “Ghost” Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers on Monday agreed to a restructured contract for the 2022 season. Though the deal is between Garoppolo and the Niners, it says more about another player on the team.
Garoppolo was originally under contract to make $26.95 million from the 49ers this season. But they could have cut him and only had a $2 million dead cap hit.
Rather than cut Garoppolo, the Niners are bringing him back in 2022 on a $6.5 million base salary. Ghost can make up to $16 million based on playing time incentives.
Why would the 49ers choose to pay Garoppolo more money to be their backup rather than outright cut him? Probably because they are not too confident in the abilities of Trey Lance.
The Niners traded up to draft Lance in 2021. He sat on the bench, backing up Ghost last season. The Niners spent all offseason publicly backing Lance and saying he would be the starter.
If San Francisco felt so great about Lance’s status, they would probably cut Garoppolo and use the extra money to improve another part of their team.
Now that the Niners will have both Lance and Garoppolo on the squad, we’re left wondering what the team will do for their No. 3 slot. They have Nate Sudfeld, who was guaranteed $2 million on a one-year deal, and 7th-round pick Brock Purdy. They will have to make another choice about their quarterbacks.
