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In today’s episode of Golden Nuggets, more wild QB speculation.
“It needs to be bold,” Reiss continued, “and that’s why my bold prediction was that Jimmy Garoppolo will come back and be their starting quarterback this season. Think about it: He was the original succession plan for Brady here in New England. In 2016 when they had to him while Tom was serving that suspension, he was lights out, winning in Arizona that opening week when all the eyes in the NFL were watching him.
Still, if San Francisco pursues another quarterback in the offseason, Garoppolo might become expandable.
“You could almost envision how the dominos could potentially fall,” Reiss noted.
“The 49ers don’t even really warrant consideration among the teams that could be interested in Watt,” Maiocco said on “49ers Talk.” “He is soon to be 32 years old, and he’s missed most of three of the past five seasons with injuries.
“The 49ers have a lot of other priorities on how to spend their money this offseason. Left tackle Trent Williams is priority No. 1, Fred Warner is due a huge contract extension this offseason, so unless Watt is willing to play for considerably less than what another team might offer, there’s really no reason to believe that he fits into the 49ers’ plan, let alone their very limited budget.”
Cutting Garoppolo, despite it being a valid notion, is still a risky move. The only way the 49ers would do that is if they already found his replacement on the roster. I doubt the 49ers view any free agent quarterback as an upgrade over him, which I would argue Ryan Fitzpatrick is better. Still, that isn’t a move the 49ers would do.
Unless they are able to acquire someone via trade, like if they brought in Matthew Stafford, then Garoppolo is most likely going to be the starting quarterback in 2021. Cutting Garoppolo would be a gamble and huge swing for the fences. The 49ers are sufficient with him under center, but they cannot reach that level if he doesn’t take the field.
Rich Scangarello is an SF 49ers X-factor for Nick Mullens
In addition to retaining Rosen, the SF 49ers brought back their former quarterbacks coach, Rich Scangarello, after his tenures both with the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles.
Scangarello was instrumental in the Niners initially grabbing Mullens as an undrafted free agent back in 2018, and there’s an argument to be made the quarterback’s success late that year was largely due to his coach’s presence. It’s safe to assume part of Mullens’ regression was due to Scangarello not being in the building anymore.
But that’s changed now, and there’s always the possibility Scangarello lobbies for Mullens’ retention.
Yet the final call ultimately lands with Shanahan, and it wasn’t hard to visibly observe the head coach’s frustrations with Mullens when things got out of hand for the bulk of 2020.
Jimmy Garoppolo Landing Spots: Potential suitors for 49ers QB
Could a reunion be in the cards as a potential Jimmy Garoppolo landing spot?
Let’s say no one bites, and the 49ers cut bait on Jimmy Garoppolo. They take the $2.8 million on the chin and let him find his own home in free agency. Why not go back to the team who drafted him out of Eastern Illinois in 2014?
The Cam Newton experiment failed in New England, and Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were left out in the cold while Tom Brady and Gronk partied a bit too hard on the “avoCado tequila.”
If it weren’t for Brady, Garoppolo would still be with the Patriots today. He already knows the offense. Belichick and Josh McDaniels both have experience in coaching Garoppolo. It would also eliminate the process of teaching and learning a new offensive playbook for both the Patriots and Garoppolo.