Jimmy Garoppolo trade: How soon until the 49ers ink the QB to a contract extension?

The San Francisco 49ers are trading a second round pick to the New England Patriots for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The move is a stunner in that it came out of nowhere in the middle of the season. Kirk Cousins always seemed like the next 49ers veteran quarterback, but apparently they had another name in mind.

The big question is what is next for Garoppolo and the 49ers. He is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, and because he was a second round pick, the 49ers do not hold a fifth year option. Instead, they can either sign him to a contract extension, or use the franchise tag next March.

This past year, the franchise tag price was $21.268 million. The year before it was $19.953 million, and the year before that it was approximately $18.544 million. The number is determined based on the salaries around the league. We’ll see the number go up a little, but I’m guessing in the $24 million or $25 million range at most.

I doubt Garoppolo would get the biggest contract for a quarterback, but he would receive a sizable pay day. Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr signed the most recent huge deals. Stafford got $60.5 million guaranteed, and his deal averaged $27 million per year. Carr got $40 million guaranteed, and his deal averaged $25,005,000 per year.

Does he end up a little less than those recent deals, or closer to what the franchise tag number is? My guess is if they sign him to an extension, it will be just under those deals, but who knows right now. The 49ers get him for the final eight games of the season, and even if he does not play this weekend, they’ll get some time to see what he can do. Maybe they wait and see, or maybe they do a deal quickly.