The potential stellar power available to the defender this season may be enough to change the NFL landscape in a profound way. Deshaun Watson seems ready to leave Houston. Matthew Stafford is about to leave Detroit and a solemn press conference by Aaron Rodgers sparked speculation (emphasis on speculation) that he could be finished with the Packers.
The 49ers could be looking to upgrade to the quarterback, which means that any potential signal caller available will be tied to San Francisco and head coach Kyle Shanahan. While this logic follows, especially in the case of an obvious update on Garoppolo, such as Watson or Rodgers, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.
First, there were no substantial reports linking 49ers to any of the possible transactions.
Dolphins and airplanes are the only teams named in all the Watson reports.
Stafford reports have just indicated that the Lions are appealing a deal now that they have agreed to break up with their defender.
Rodgers only had a sad press conference that made some people read between the lines of his answers. There’s still nothing on the table with him to indicate that he really wants to get out of Green Bay.
The other thing you have to remember is where the 49ers are with Jimmy Garoppolo. Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have indicated that they expect Garoppolo to start next season.
Shanahan said that for San Francisco to have fun making a change to the player’s defender, the player should be a significant upgrade. Considering the capital project would be needed to get a quarterback that represents the significant upgrade that 49ers would seek to increase the risk factor in any risk-reward analysis for San Francisco.
It seems and sounds that the coaching staff and the front office of the 49ers feel better about their chances with Garoppolo under the center than some fans and analysts do. They said all the right things about QB, and their actions have supported this so far. They haven’t drafted a defender since taking on CJ Beathard in the third round of the 2017 draft. That could certainly change this year, with no quarterbacks other than Garoppolo and running back Josh Johnson under contract for next season, but that could not change Garoppolo’s short-term prospects as a San Francisco caller.
Shanahan has built a list full of players who can still produce yards and big games even with Garoppolo’s weaknesses pushing the ball on the field. Valuable price capital trading in a year when the salary cap could become a problem and so many holes have opened up on the list would only make sense for a player who changes the franchise below the center.
Now, there is a discussion about Garoppolo’s long-term future with San Francisco.
They chose not to extend it, even though this could possibly release some money in the short term, and its injury problems are a real concern for a team that feels like it’s in the middle of a championship window. . Not to mention Garoppolo’s shortcomings, as a defender I’m probably not something Shanahan will want to fix in the next decade.
However, this does not mean that they have the guarantee that they will make a move for an available defender and it would not be a surprise if they never become a real factor.
Watson has a ban clause that could allow him to dictate where he plays. If the 49ers aren’t a team they prefer, San Francisco can’t do anything.
Stafford has less control, but the Lions may be willing to work with him if their relationship is still amicable. There is also a chance that Stafford will not fall within the update threshold that Shanahan says he has to cross Garoppolo.
Rodgers may not even want to be traded, so one has to go backburner for now. Even then, he will have a little leverage in case the 49ers could be an unforeseen factor if he does not want to go there.
The 49ers need to figure out the long-term response to the quarterback soon. It is the most important position on the field and Garoppolo may not be the player he is going to build. However, that doesn’t mean he has to do anything drastic in 2021. Just because there may be quarterbacks on the move doesn’t mean San Francisco is guaranteed to be involved. And when it comes to that, they may not have much to choose from.