ESPN’s Louis Riddick on Garoppolo to the Seahawks: Jimmy G is like the piece that they’re missing

Here’s a plausible scenario: the 49ers are left with no choice but to release Jimmy Garoppolo as he recovers from shoulder surgery, and no team is willing to part ways with valuable draft capital. If you’re on the outside looking in, why would you?

The Niners invested in Trey Lance, and their hands are tied as Jimmy is in no man’s land on the roster. At one point during the offseason, rumors swirled that the 49ers would receive as high as a first-round pick for Garoppolo. San Francisco may have to swallow its pride as they realize the market isn’t what they thought it’d be for Jimmy G.

ESPN’s Louis Riddick was on NFL Live Friday and believed Garoppolo could be the missing piece the Seattle Seahawks are looking for:

“He can throw as pretty of a pass as anyone in the NFL, and with some of the weapons that they have out there – when you think of (wide receivers) Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, (tight end) Noah Fant, two good running backs, (they) just drafted two bookend offensive tackles, (they’re) building up the defense – Jimmy G is like the piece that they’re missing. Seattle’s setting the table for some quarterback in the next year or two. If it’s not Drew Luck or Geno Smith, which it ain’t gonna be… someone’s going to inherit a football team that has quietly set themselves up.”

If the first thing you do when describing a quarterback is mention how pretty of a pass he can throw, and you never make it to the, ya know, tangible traits that help you win as a team, I’d have my reservations.

Seattle doesn’t have many, if any, options at quarterback. It’ll be a long season for the Seahawks if they plan to roll with Drew Lock under center. Geno Smith is an upgrade over Lock, but he hasn’t started more than three games dating back to 2015.

Garoppolo gives Seattle experience, but how much of an upgrade would he be in an offense that has weapons but relied on a quarterback that could get them the ball down the field?

Seattle fans I’ve spoken to seem more willing to roll the dice and see what they have in Geno this season. If that fails, they will draft a quarterback in next year’s draft.

With Jimmy, the Seahawks would win enough games where they’d be out of contention to draft the top quarterbacks next year but fail to win enough games to make the playoffs. Whereas having Smith or Lock under center would all but assure enough variance for a high pick next year.

Could you see Garoppolo in a Seahawks jersey next season?