It won’t be long now until the Washington Commanders appoint their new quarterback for 2022 and potentially beyond.
While it could still take another month, if not longer, it’s nice to be long removed from the dog days of the regular season when Taylor Heinicke, who doesn’t have an NFL arm to begin with, was trying to complete downfield passes off his back foot and making Terry McLaurin risk life and limb on underthrown deep balls.
If you’ve been following along, it’s clear Jimmy Garoppolo is the QB with the most links to Washington. Some sportsbooks have the Commanders as the odds-on favorite to acquire the 49ers starter, so the buzz appears legitimate.
At this point, Garoppolo seems like the most likely acquisition for Washington, so let’s review some pros and cons of trading for the 30-year-old.
Pros and cons of Commanders trading for Jimmy Garoppolo
Pro: Experience and success in playoffs
Much has been made about Garoppolo’s shortcomings in the postseason, but the last time we checked, he made more big-time throws than Aaron Rodgers in blizzard-like conditions at Lambeau Field in the Divisional Round.
You can actually peg Garoppolo’s playoff performance as a potential con given his struggles in the fourth quarter (the stats aren’t pretty), but we’re flipping it into a positive due to the fact that Washington hasn’t had a quarterback with playoff experience since Kirk Cousins in 2013 and 2016.
Say what you will about Garoppolo being a game-manager and being carried by the 49ers’ running game and strong defense, but it’s no accident he’s led the 49ers to a 4-2 playoff record and a Super Bowl appearance in six starts.
For an organization that’s cycled through inferior quarterbacks over the years, fans shouldn’t turn their nose up at Garoppolo’s playoff success. In terms of available QBs, only Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson have more postseason experience than San Francisco’s polarizing starter.
Con: Lengthy injury history
Like Carson Wentz, Garoppolo comes with great injury risk. In five years as the 49ers’ starting quarterback, the former second-round pick has played a full season just once. He’s started an average of nine games during that span and has played 46 of a possible 81 regular season games, or 56.7%.
The encouraging thing is that 38 of those starts have come in the last three seasons, so Garoppolo has improved in the durability department. It’s also worth noting that he’s largely avoided catastrophic injuries over his career, with his only encounter coming in the form of a torn ACL early on in the 2018 season.
With that said, Garoppolo is prone to the occasional small-scale injury (usually strains/sprains) that sideline him for weeks at a time. In fact, he’s suffered five different variations of sprains (AC/joint sprain, two Grade 3 high-ankle sprains, a calf strain, and most recently a shoulder sprain in this year’s playoffs.
Those missed games add up, so it would behoove the Commanders to have a viable backup (Taylor Heinicke or a potential draftee) waiting in the wings in the event Garoppolo picks up a knock.
Pro: He’s an upgrade/Leadership
At the end of the day, Washington is looking to upgrade at quarterback and Garoppolo would represent a significant upgrade in that regard. While he isn’t the long-term solution, he’ll help Washington be more competitive in a weak NFC East, win up to 10 games and maybe even make the playoffs.
For his career, Garoppolo has completed 67.7% of his passes for 71 touchdowns, 38 interceptions and a 98.9 passer rating. He owns a 33-14 career record, meaning he wins more than two games for every loss in games he’s started. His .702 win percentage is the third-best among active QBs who’ve started at least 45 games.
As far as leadership is concerned, it’s been clear that Garoppolo’s had the respect of San Francisco’s locker room.
With a military background, Ron Rivera covets leadership qualities in a quarterback. That was a big reason why Washington’s head coach stuck with Heinicke down the stretch of 2021 when he had ample opportunities to turn to Kyle Allen.
Throughout the season when fans and pundits were calling for No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance to start, Garoppolo’s teammates had his back. Look no further than Deebo Samuel coming to his QB’s defense amid media backlash after the 49ers’ heartbreaking NFC Championship Game loss to the Rams.
Don’t overlook Garoppolo’s leadership as one of his best qualities.
Con: Lack of mobility/Potential cost
While most of the NFL transitions into starting dual-threat quarterbacks, or at least QBs who are capable of navigating pressure, the Commanders trading for Garoppolo could be regarded as a move off the beaten path.
For all of the great work Garoppolo does in the pocket, he’s extremely limited when the pocket collapses and he’s forced to throw on the run.
On the plus side, Washington had one of the best pass-blocking offensive lines in 2021, but fans should be wary of Jimmy G’s tendency to choose violence once he’s flushed outside, because it’s usually not a pretty sight.
Finally, we get to his potential cost. The only reason this is viewed as a con is because an anonymous NFL executive told insider Ben Standig of The Athletic that the team could justify trading a first-round pick for Garoppolo.
We’re not sure what planet that exec hails from or how he even has a job in the NFL, but that insight sparked red flags all cross Commanders Twitter. Assuming Washington isn’t stupid enough to trade a first-rounder for a placeholder, we wouldn’t be overly concerned about it coming to fruition.
However, the fact it’s out there is terrifying and suggests the team should look elsewhere if the 49ers actually demand that much. There’s no explanation needed to convince all of you that Garoppolo’s not worth a first-round pick.