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Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi, now a contributor to The Athletic, does not check John Lynch’s recent statement that the San Francisco 49ers are content for the 2021 season with Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm. If they were, he doesn’t think the team would call the entire league to find out about anyone who was available. Most assume that Lynch is doing his due diligence as a free agency and the project is fast approaching.
“They’re too active, too aggressive to run it one more year with someone they don’t completely trust,” Lombardi wrote this week.
Lombardi also doesn’t buy head coach Kyle Shanahan who is interested in Teddy Bridgewater and doubts the 49ers would ask about the Carolina Panthers quarterback. This report came from Lombardi’s partner with The Athletic, Joe Person.
“49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was never a big Bridgewater fan during his stay in Cleveland when Bridgewater was available in the draft,” Lombardi explained. “Shanahan is pretty specific in what he wants for his offense from quarterback position, and those ratings don’t fit with Bridgewater’s game.”
Lombardi was the general manager of the Cleveland Browns during the Shanahan (2014) season as offensive coordinator there, which was also the year Bridgewater entered the league.
Lombardi is convinced that Shanahan is interested in adding a quarterback, but not just any quarterback. The writer names two possible options that could convince the head coach to move on from Garoppolo.
The first is Sam Darnold of the New York Jets.
“Why? Because Darnold fits the profile that Shanahan loves in this position: athletic, he can throw himself by moving left or right and he has the strength of his arm to make the defense defend all the leaves of field grass, “Lombardi wrote. “The 49ers could acquire him with a second-round pick and then change Jimmy G.”
Lombardi points out that the Jets are looking for a high selection in the second round for Darnold, something that ranges from number 33-42 overall. San Francisco owns General Election No. 43.
This week, FS1 host Colin Cowherd heeded Lombardi’s comments about Darnold. Cowherd has often expressed that Darnold would be a good fit for Shanahan’s offense.
“If Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t have any injuries at all, they wouldn’t get away from him,” Cowherd said The Herd (h / ta Patrick Tulini). “He has shown that he is good enough to get to the Super Bowl. He is a B quarterback talent who, for a year, when he was healthy, played as a quarterback minus A under Shanahan.
“Well, Darnold, if you ask any scout, he’s more athletic than Jimmy Garoppolo. He has better raw tools. He’s a little bigger, coarser, more athletic and with a better arm than Garoppolo. So if Garoppolo can get there to a Super Bowl, why can’t Darnold? “
Needless to say, there have been no official reports indicating that the 49ers want to “get away” from Garoppolo and that so far there has been speculation. Yes, San Francisco asked about Matthew Stafford and Carson Wentz. However, the team never made any offers for either of them and their interest in the former has been described as “lukewarm”.
There’s another quarterback Lombardi believes San Francisco would be even more interested in acquiring than Darnold. Of course, this creates a difficult situation. It means making a potential play for Darnold could frustrate the team’s chances of an even better option: Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans.
“Would you like San Francisco Watson? Yes,” Lombardi adds. “Would they want Watson above Darnold? Again, yes. Would they regret negotiating with Darnold if two days later they hear that Houston is accepting offers for Watson? Another huge yes.”
For now, the 49ers appear content pressing forward with Garoppolo. However, some remain convinced that Lynch and Shanahan keep other quarterbacks on their radar, just in case.
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