Jimmy Garoppolo Will Stay With The 49ers After Agreeing To A Restructured One-Year Deal

After the Niners came up short in the NFC title game a year ago, it was widely anticipated that Jimmy Garoppolo had played his final game with in San Francisco.

Trey Lance, who the 49ers took with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was the heir apparent and San Francisco was ready to head in a different direction to hopefully liven up their offense some. However, no team ever met the Niners asking price for Garoppolo as he was the odd man out on the quarterback carousel this offseason after the Colts landed Matt Ryan and the Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield, and the result was some awkwardness in camp as Jimmy G sat off to the side awaiting a resolution.

That finally came on Monday when, to the surprise of many, the Niners struck a restructured deal with Garoppolo that drops his guarantee but offers some incentives for if he ends up under center again, making him, for now, one of the league’s highest paid backups.

The deal gives San Francisco some flexibility with cap room for any additions they may want to make during the season, while also ensuring they have a (very) good backup should anything happen to Lance. It also gives them the most valuable quarterback to trade should someone get hurt during the season on a contender, which would make Garoppolo much more valuable than he was this offseason. Garoppolo would have to sign off on such a deal, as his new contract contains a no-trade clause, but if the chance to start on a playoff contender arises during the season, one would think he’d be happy to do so.