3 Most Likely Trade Destinations for Jimmy Garoppolo Ahead of 2021 NFL Draft

The San Francisco 49ers are picking a quarterback at No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft. It's unclear who the pick will be, but the whole world knows it's going to be a signal-caller.

What's less clear, however, is what that means for incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo. The organization has publicly said it has no intention of trading the former New England Patriot, but that's a bit hard to believe.

San Francisco can get out of Garoppolo's $26 million cap hit this season with very little dead money. Trading Jimmy G would allow the team to recoup some assets while maintaining enough financial flexibility to assemble a super team around the No. 3 pick on a rookie contract. That's the closest thing we have to a Super Bowl blueprint in the modern NFL.

If the 49ers elect to move on, here are three potential trade destinations for Jimmy G.

Jimmy Garoppolo Trade Rumors

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

Financially, this move could be tough to pull off. And it'd probably have to happen after the 2021 season. But that could be pretty appealing for both sides, especially if Trey Lance is the pick at No. 3. Having only attempted 288 passes at the collegiate level, it's hard to see Lance starting right away. San Francisco could keep Jimmy G for a year as a stopgap option before shipping him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. From Pittsburgh's perspective, this would allow Ben Roethlisberger to play out what is likely to be the final season of his career. And while Garoppolo is an injury a risk, he'd only have one year remaining on his contract with a manageable $27 million cap hit. If he performs, the two could work out a long-term deal. If he doesn't, Pittsburgh could look for his replacement in the 2022 NFL Draft.

2. Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are rolling with Andy Dalton this season. The Red Rifle is a solid option, but he doesn't have the long-term upside that Garoppolo brings to the table. Though he's already 29 years old, we've only seen him play one full season in his career. You can't argue with the results he got. He led San Francisco to the Super Bowl while orchestrating the league's second-best scoring offense –– Andy Dalton isn't doing that anytime soon. General manager Ryan Pace would have to work some cap magic to pull this off, but Garoppolo is talented enough to warrant a gamble.

1. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a quarterback away from contending. Barring a Josh Allen-like year-three breakout, Drew Lock isn't going to get them there. But perhaps Garoppolo could. And there are actually quite a few parallels between this Broncos team and the one Garoppolo took to the Super Bowl. Both rosters had a fearsome pass-rushing unit, elite skill-position players, a strong offensive line and a talented secondary. All that's missing is a quarterback. If Denver misses out on one of the top-tier passers in the NFL Draft, Garoppolo could be a fantastic consolation prize.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.