Jimmy Garoppolo is a fit, or “makes sense”, for some teams, but the Detroit Lions still aren’t one of them.
Jimmy Garoppolo derailed the San Francisco 49ers plan to trade him this offseason by having shoulder surgery in March. He’s been cleared to throw, but the list of trade suitors is short as training camps get going.
Plenty of analysts tried forcing the idea of Baker Mayfield to the Detroit Lions. Now, to a lesser degree, that has transferred to Garoppolo. This despite the Lions giving every indication they’re committed to Jared Goff as their starting quarterback this year.
It can be debated whether that should have been the case, or that it should stay that way no matter what (or who is available). But that is what’s going on. Goff is the Lions’ starting quarterback this season, barring injury.
Jason McIntyre thinks Lions and Jimmy Garoppolo “makes a lot of sense”
On a recent episode of his podcast, “Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre”, Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports talked possible fits for Garoppolo and mentioned the Lions.
That’s as weak a quarterback room in the league as you will find,” McIntyre said. “Lions stood pat, did not take a quarterback. Look at the roster, they’ve got 20 wide receivers and they got Jared Goff leading the way.”
Does Jimmy Garoppolo take us from 3-13-1 to eight or nine wins and oh by the way, the Philadelphia Eagles got in the playoffs with nine wins (in 2021),”
If I’m the Lions, do I want to experiment with that? The GM has some safety, the coach has some safety. Both are on five-year deals. If you are looking at an NFC team where Garoppolo could land, that makes a lot of sense.”
McIntyre leaves out the finances of acquiring Garoppolo, though it’s safe to assume he’d do what Mayfield did and take a pay cut to pave the way for a trade.
Garoppolo is also not a real upgrade over Goff. If he was, then it’s a different conversation. If Goff suffers a major injury in camp or a preseason game, then it’s a different conversation. But McIntyre thinks the Lions and Garoppolo make sense, and he can elevate them to the same place they might get this year with Goff under center (eight or nine wins).
Two NFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl appearance over the last three years are the shiny things on Garoppolo’s starting resume. But take that away, and you’ve got a limited quarterback who has regularly struggled to stay healthy.
In the six playoff games over the two aforementioned playoff runs for the 49ers, Garoppolo has 25 or less pass attempts four times and less than 20 three times. The team got as far as it did with him as a passenger, not as a driving force.
The Lions have cast their lot with Goff for this year, with likely eyes on securing a young quarterback in the 2023 draft. Anything else is a deviation from that plan, and Garoppolo as the new starting quarterback doesn’t even enhance their prospects for this season.