Jimmy Garoppolo update proves Commanders were right to not pursue him

The Washington Commanders have their quarterback in Carson Wentz, but this wasn’t the expected outcome. In fact, the Indianapolis Colts reportedly didn’t decided to move on from Wentz until after the NFL Combine.

Once the Commanders swung and missed on Russell Wilson, for whom they offered three first-rounders and were willing to include a player, they zeroed in on trading for Wentz over the other available QBs and got a deal done.

Of course, Washington — much to the chagrin of fans — was linked with Jimmy Garoppolo more so than any other quarterback. In fact, Garoppolo was the betting favorite to be the team’s next QB for the better part of a month.

When push came to shove, the Commanders opted for Wentz, which looks pretty smart in hindsight given the 49ers’ absurd demands for Jimmy G (a first-round pick) and the latest update on the 30-year-old’s future.

The latest update on Jimmy Garoppolo prove the Commanders were smart not to pursue the 49ers quarterback.

Here’s what Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk had to say about Garoppolo’s future in San Francisco. Our guess is it’ll be followed by a collective sigh of relief from Commanders fans, but we’ll let you be the judge of that.

"The problem arises from the full set of circumstances surrounding his situation. The biggest problem, as one league source explained it on Saturday, is the shoulder surgery Garoppolo underwent earlier this month. No one will trade for a quarterback with a $25 million compensation package after he underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his throwing shoulder, the source explained.Throw in the fact that Garoppolo had the surgery without consulting with the 49ers, and it makes every team that otherwise would be interested in Garoppolo very leery.Unless Garoppolo is willing to do a new contract as part of a trade (and why would he be?), a trade isn’t happened. The most likely result, the source predicted, is that the 49ers will have to cut him."

Well, well, well. For a fan base that gets flack for being reactionary and exaggerative, Commanders fans’ collective dismissal of Garoppolo as the team’s next quarterback is seemingly on the verge of being vindicated.

With Garoppolo’s shoulder surgery dissuading a number of suitors — the Colts chief among them — the 49ers might be forced into releasing the former second-round pick. At this point in the offseason, all of the QB-needy teams (Washington, Indy, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Denver, Tampa Bay, Atlanta) have found either a temporary or long-term solution, leaving Jimmy G with zero feasible suitors.

Of the remaining QB-needy teams, the Panthers are stuck with Sam Darnold after exercising his fifth-year option last offseason. With them likely to draft a quarterback, trading for Garoppolo would make zero sense.

The Lions, meanwhile, have Jared Goff to hold down the fort until they appoint their long-term answer. If they draft Malik Willis second overall, Goff would be a capable placeholder until the Liberty product’s ready to take over the offense.

The Texans, meanwhile, seem content running it back with Davis Mills, who exceeded expectations as a third-round look last year and the Falcons pivoted to free agent Marcus Mariota after trading Matt Ryan to Indianapolis.

The Seahawks are the only logical destination, but San Fran would never give a division rival a fast track to relevancy after they just traded Russell Wilson.

Taking all that into consideration, it’s hard not to draw the conclusion that Garoppolo will get released. That, of course, assumes, the 49ers have utmost confidence that Trey Lance is ready to undertake the full-time starting job.

While cutting Garoppolo would equip the Niners with $25 million in cap space to gear up for another deep playoff run, it wouldn’t hurt to have a proven winner waiting in the wings in the event Lance struggles.

Whatever the case, thank goodness Washington didn’t jump the gun and trade for Garoppolo. Their acquisition of Wentz revealed their desperation to find a QB before the market unfolded. Could you imagine the backlash if they traded a first- or second-rounder for Garoppolo when him getting cut was always the likely scenario?

Talk about avoiding a disaster.