Jimmy Garoppolo may land elsewhere soon, but he still makes no sense for the Detroit Lions.
Now that his throwing shoulder is healthy after offseason surgery, it may only be a matter of time before the San Francisco 49ers trade Jimmy Garoppolo. The question is who would, should or could trade for him with training camp getting very close.
On the surface, a quarterback who has started a Super Bowl and nearly reached a second last year would be in demand. If he had been healthy all offseason, Garoppolo would already have been traded. There’s also a slim chance the 49ers decide to keep him into the season, or if a trade doesn’t materialize they’d consider cutting him.
He couldn’t let go of the idea of Baker Mayfield to the Lions, so Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk including them on his list of teams who should be interested in Garoppolo isn’t surprising.
The Lions.
Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Jared Goff? Advantage Garoppolo.
Jimmy Garoppolo and the Lions still don’t make sense
Back in May, Bleacher Report tabbed the Lions as a team who could put together a realistic trade package for Garoppolo. That was a strained thought, if only because of the money “Jimmy G” is owed this year. Barring a substantial paycut to facilitate to trade, of course.
Sportsline.com recently came out with new odds of who Garoppolo’s next team will be. After the Cleveland Browns at +300 (3/1) there are the Lions at +400 (4/1).
Detroit had been rumored as a potential player in the Mayfield market; would the Lions add Garoppolo to compete with Jared Goff for the No. 1 job? Detroit has some interesting young talent and could be ready to make a jump with the right QB.
Browns +300
Lions +400
Texans +500
Falcons +750
Seahawks +800
Steelers +1000
Saints +1200
Bucs +1500
Titans +2000
Based on how mediocre Jared Goff is, the Lions are easy to put on a list of possible suitors for Mayfield (before he was traded) and Garoppolo. At minimum they should’ve upgraded their backup quarterback situation this offseason, and didn’t. With that, it became clear they had no desire to acquire someone who could push Goff for the starting job.
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For as limited as he is, Garoppolo would push Goff for the starting job in Detroit–and perhaps beat him out, even within the relatively short window of training camp and preseason.
At times, oddsmakers end up ahead of the curve on things that wind up happening. But the Lions and Garoppolo have always been a strained fit, and any fresh urgency for the 49ers to trade him now that he’s throwing doesn’t change that.