Report: 49ers do not have trade partner for Jimmy Garoppolo

Sep 26, 2021; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) walks on the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers have elected to move forward with quarterback Trey Lance, which means Jimmy Garoppolo is expendable. That’s not a surprise — that was the expectation entering the new league year back in March.

What does come as a bit of a surprise is how shallow Garoppolo’s market has proven to be. And by shallow, we really mean non-existent.

Despite countless rumors of alleged interest from team’s around the league, nothing has materialized for the 49ers. And as the NFL’s final cutdown day rapidly approaches, that very much remains the case. In fact, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that San Francisco appears poised to be left emptyhanded.

“Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers, obviously he is not their future quarterback, they’ve made that abundantly clear it’s going to be Trey Lance,” Rapoport said on Friday.

“Are the 49ers going to be able to trade him and his 20-plus million dollar salary? My understanding is a trade partner as of right now, absent of a quarterback injury, does not exist. The 49ers’ options, and they’ve made this very clear, including recently through the comments of general manager John Lynch last night, options are either to cut him or somehow, some way, keep him on the roster. We will see which way they end up going, but an answer must come pretty soon.”

Garoppolo’s salary isn’t the the only thing plaguing a potential deal or throttling interest. He’s also returning from an offseason shoulder surgery, which comes on the heels a very mediocre career to date.

The 49ers now have a difficult choice to make: Cut Garoppolo and get nothing, or try to keep him on the roster and hope another team gets desperate.