The Jimmy Garoppolo trade rumors are flying and the Super Bowl hasn’t even been played yet.
Trade destinations for Garoppolo are fascinating because of the wide gap in how teams view him as a quarterback, and what teams might be willing to part with in the trade market.
Instead of trying to nail down a handful of teams, we went through all 32 clubs and put them in groups based on different criteria. With each group we gave the chances Garoppolo winds up with one of those teams.
The categories and what they mean are as follows:
Love their QB: Teams with very good QBs.
Developing young QB: Teams who may upgrade with Garoppolo, but they have a good young player at the position.
The Green Bay Packers: *Gestures broadly at Aaron Rodgers*
Yuck: Yuck.
“They’re the same picture.” – Pam Beesly: QBs that are a lot like Garoppolo.
No money, mo’ problems: The salary cap gets in the way.
Patriots ties: He was drafted by New England, you know.
NFC West: The 49ers and teams in their division.
I mean, I guess: It makes sense in a vacuum.
Makes sense: They check all the boxes.
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Bengals
Does any team in the league like their quarterback more than the Bengals like Joe Burrow right now?
Bills
Josh Allen is big, mobile, has a bazooka on his right shoulder and is improving.
Chargers
Justin Herbert is big, mobile, has a bazooka on his right shoulder and is improving.
Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes did the 13 seconds thing.
Cowboys
Dak Prescott isn’t the problem in Dallas.
Ravens
Lamar Jackson was the league MVP two years ago and they built their entire offense around his electric skill set.
Chances: Lol no. Unless the Cowboys want him to replace Mike McCarthy.
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Jaguars
It seems unlikely Trevor Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, is giving up that job any time soon.
Jets
Zach Wilson didn’t have a great rookie year but he wasn’t so bad that they’d bail on him for a quarterback of Garoppolo’s caliber.
Bears
If Matt Nagy was still in Chicago there’d be a chance because that team was a disaster. The new infrastructure should help Justin Fields.
Eagles
It’s not a slam dunk that Jalen Hurts is a franchise QB, but what he did in 2021 is enough to be optimistic about his trajectory.
Chances: Perhaps if one of them wants a very expensive, dramatically overqualified QB2?
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Packers
Who in the world knows what’s going on with their quarterback situation. If Aaron Rodgers leaves though, acquiring the guy who knocked them out of the playoffs twice in the last three seasons makes sense!
Chances: Idk, is Jordan Love good?
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Giants
Not even Brian Daboll can make this an enticing destination in 2022.
Panthers
What’s Carolina even doing? They had one of the worst offenses in the league last year. Even with Christian McCaffrey healthy they’re not in a spot where Garoppolo helps them much.
Dolphins
Garoppolo said he wants to go to a team that’s winning. He didn’t say anything about getting paid extra to lose though.
Lions
Matthew Stafford never won a playoff game with Detroit and then went to the Super Bowl in his first year outside of Detroit.
Chances: Carolina, 30 percent. The others, 4 percent.
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Ryan Tannehill
Pretty self-explanatory.
Chances: Think of how funny it would be if the Titans replaced Tannehill with Garoppolo. How funny that is is inversely proportional to the odds this happens.
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Falcons
Matt Ryan’s dead cap number in 2022 is north of $40 million.
Vikings
Kirk Cousins has $35 million fully guaranteed with a $10 million prorated signing bonus. He carries a $45 million dead cap number. That’s a lot of plexiglass.
Saints
They are $75 million over next year’s salary cap.
Colts
Carson Wentz’s dead cap number is $15 million this year, and Garoppolo isn’t enough of a step up to justify that move even for a team like Indianapolis that has a ton of cap space.
Chances: Money talks, and it’s saying “no.”
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Patriots
Bill Belichick is still in New England and drafted Garoppolo in the second round. They drafted Mac Jones No. 15 overall last season though and based on Jones’ trajectory they’re likely not eager to move on.
Raiders
Dave Ziegler is a former Patriots scout who’s now the Raiders general manager. Not to mention their head coach is former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Las Vegas may want to wipe the slate clean and move QB Derek Carr. Garoppolo offers a veteran presence who’s familiar with the offense, but it feels like a lateral move from Carr at best.
Texans
Their general manager Nick Caserio was in New England when Garoppolo was drafted, you know? Supreme Leader Jack Easterby is also a Patriots guy. If Davis Mills didn’t show promise as a rookie this would be a much more interesting destination.
Chances: Not zero, but less than slight. We can revisit if Carr moves.
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Seahawks
Cardinals
Rams
49ers
It seems like Garoppolo’s days in San Francisco are over, and none of the other NFC West teams are in need of his services. Not to mention the 49ers wouldn’t trade their former starting QB in the division anyway.
Chances: Between slim and none but closer to none that he stays in San Francisco.
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Broncos
They have a good defense and good weapons, but is Garoppolo the quarterback a team wants that’s in a division with Mahomes and Herbert?
Browns
Cleveland probably isn’t paying Baker Mayfield, but trading for Garoppolo probably isn’t going to put them over the hump in the AFC either.
Commanders
Washington has been a popular name in the Garoppolo conversation, but they don’t seem like a squad that’s a Garoppolo away from contending for a Super Bowl.
Buccaneers
This depends on what their free agency looks like. With Tom Brady retiring there could be a mass exodus that drops them in the ‘Yuck’ bucket. Another issue here is Garoppolo operating Bruce Arians’ super aggressive downfield passing offense. Sportsbooks like the Bucs though.
Chances: 29.2 percent, which is the same as Garoppolo’s completion rate on deep throws down the middle and to the left last season.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Steelers
They’re a quarterback away. A really good defense and a really good run game are the perfect insulation for Garoppolo. He could thrive in Pittsburgh.
Chances: 46.7 percent, which is, you guessed it, Garoppolo’s completion rate on deep throws to the right last season.
