San Francisco 49ers | To trade Jimmy G or not?

The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in a peculiar situation. It’s unclear if there’s any interest in Jimmy Garoppolo (yes, we’re talking about you Cowboys), and it’s unclear if the Niners would even let go of their veteran.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

For the time being, Jimmy G is of course the young Trey Lance’s reserve. Although he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl less than three years ago and to the National Championship game in January, he’s second.

Ungrateful? Not necessarily. But it’s certainly unusual to see a quarterback with such a road course end up on the bench.

Garoppolo has never been unanimous. Often injured, he doesn’t seem like a great leader. In fact, according to veteran journalist Michael Silver, who has always been well-connected to what was going on at the 49ers, Garoppolo often ignored messages from coaches and players during off-seasons, even in the weeks that followed. his signing of a five-year contract worth 137.5 million in 2018.

There are, however, square brackets in the positive column, too. Garoppolo is only 30 years old (nowadays a youngster in the quarterback world…) and his career statistics are more than respectable: 67.7% of successful passes, 71 touchdowns, 38 interceptions and a coefficient of efficiency of 98.8. Given his age and the fact that he played very little in his first seasons in New England, Garoppolo could raise his level of play another notch or two in the next few years.

The reason the 49ers trumped Garoppolo was because they sacrificed three first-round picks so they could pick Lance with the third selection in the 2021 draft.

At that price, Lance couldn’t start his second season on the bench, especially since he had played little in the NCAA at North Dakota State University.

In his first start of the season, Lance completed less than 50% of his passes (13 for 28) for 164 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, which gave him a starving efficiency ratio of 50.3. I hear you, Marius, it was only one game. (Marius is a convinced reader that I don’t like the 49ers because I don’t predict the Super Bowl for them every year.)

Lance deserves to be able to do himself justice, that’s quite obvious. The 49ers still chose to keep Garoppolo with the team a few weeks ago. Due to the huge salary he was getting, no team made any trades to get him. But rather than release him, the Niners restructured his contract and even gave him a no-trade clause! That’s not to mention the many performance and playing time bonuses included in the contract, most of which are attached to the playoffs…

If a great opportunity were to arise in the trading market, Garoppolo could take it or turn it down. From the 49ers’ perspective, they’re keeping an insurance policy behind Lance for at least another season if that’s what they want to do. Either way, Garoppolo will become a free agent in March.

By allowing Lance to cut his teeth over the next few months, would the 49ers put a cross on their chances of winning the Super Bowl this year? Most likely. This may be the price to pay to promote the development of the 23-year-old athlete. Or simply to make up his mind about his future…

In hindsight, the 49ers’ decision to mortgage a season or a few to secure Lance’s services is certainly questionable. With a core of players made up of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Erik Armstead, in particular, this team could rightly aim for a first championship since 1994. Difficult to prepare for the future while battling for the Lombardi trophy.

Three games to watch

New England at Pittsburgh, Sunday, 1 p.m.

It may not be as hot as it was when Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger faced off, but the Patriots and Steelers remain two of the NFL’s flagship clubs and two of the best managed. Will the Steelers defense still have fuel after being on the field for 94 plays and 43:42 against the Bengals? Both of these teams may not have much wiggle room in the playoff race, so they need to win games that pit them against teams that have similar talent to theirs.

Cincinnati at Dallas, Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

Dak Prescott’s injury (thumb) makes this game a little less interesting, while Cooper Rush will replace him. In his only start last year, Rush defeated the Vikings with an astonishing performance (24 of 40 for 325 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception). The Bengals, as much as the Cowboys, have things to be forgiven for after their first game. Their offense committed five turnovers and their special teams missed two short kicks to win. As for the Cowboys, they will have to play with more emotion than they did if they want to stay in the game without Prescott.

Minnesota at Philadelphia, Monday 8:30 p.m.

There will be two games on Monday night, but there are two differences from previous years. Normally, the doubleheader is on the first Monday and not the second, then the games are at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. This time, the first game, which will pit the Titans against the Bills, will begin at 7 p.m., but the second will begin at 8:30 p.m. to reach the playoffs, but also to win their respective division, even if we don’t talk about them much. A good test on both sides.