The San Francisco 49ers are in their bye week, and it is one of their more interesting bye weeks in some time. The specific reason is Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers acquired Garoppolo two weeks ago, and he has spent his time learning the playbook and getting comfortable with his new teammates. The big question now is whether or not he is starting after the bye week.
Late last week, ESPN’s Dan Graziano put together predictions on who would be each team’s quarterback in 2020. The 49ers may not yet know who their quarterback will be in Week 12, but one has to think they are hoping Garoppolo will be the guy in 2020. Graziano offered up a curious different take.
Sometimes the obvious is the obvious for a reason. After Jimmy Garoppolo flops, Cousins gets $35 million a year to sign with the 49ers after 2017. He and former coordinator Kyle Shanahan hum along for the next three seasons, pacing the NFL's top offense year after year.
Graziano broke the predictions into three tiers: no plan, a plan, a good plan. The 49ers were listed under good plan, which seems odd considering there is no guarantee Cousins will reach unrestricted free agency in 2018. Washington could decide to use the franchise or transition tag, or they get a deal done. There are no certainties with his situation, which would suggest this is a plan, but not necessarily a “good plan.”
All that being said, it’s certainly at least a possibility. I think they end up extending Garoppolo, but Cousins will remain a bit of an elephant in the room until an extension gets done. I would be surprised if the final six weeks were enough to declare Garoppolo a flop, but there are still so many unknowns in this situation.