49ers in Five: Could Jimmy Garoppolo end up with the Rams?

Every time we think we’ve covered every last possible destination for Jimmy Garoppolo, one more emerges.

Earlier this week on NFL Total Access, former executive Marc Ross threw out this destination for Jimmy G.

The Rams may be trying to downplay Matthew Stafford’s injury, but it’s in their interest to do so. Sean McVay is never going to come right out and say the team is in big trouble. Still, his comments about the situation aren’t exactly comforting.

“It’s a little bit abnormal for a quarterback,” McVay said, “Some of this stuff is things that MLB pitchers deal with, so it is something that we’re kind of learning about on the fly, and his feedback...It is something that I’ve never navigated through as a coach with a quarterback. You’ve had little elbow things here and there, but this is something that we want to be as smart as possible, and it’s taken a big team to try to do that.”

While it’s doubtful the 49ers would trade Garoppolo to the Rams, that won’t matter eventually. Surely Lynch and company will hold on to Jimmy for as long as possible, but the calendar waits for no one. Either by the cut down to 53 on August 30th or the day the roster locks on September 10th, Garoppolo will have to be cut to prevent his base salary from becoming, for all intents and purposes, guaranteed. Once that happens, he’d be free to sign with any team he wants.

You could argue that the Rams would make a perfect partner for him. He would once again be surrounded by a great team with a chance to win, coached by a fantastic play-caller. He’d also get multiple chances to stick it to his former employer. A few good games with LA would be the perfect rehabilitation for Garoppolo’s resume and put him in line to sign a nice contract with another team after the season is over.

From the 49ers’ perspective, Garoppolo landing with the Rams is far from ideal. Those two games were already going to be a tall task for San Francisco, and they’d certainly rather face John Wolford if Stafford was unavailable. If I was the GM of another team that had interest in Jimmy G., I would use this exact line of thinking during the negotiations.

“Hey, either trade him to me for a 6th round pick or hang up the phone and roll the dice that your (essentially) rookie QB can beat him and the Rams.”

I understand why none of that sounds appealing for the 49ers, but that scenario is a very real possibility. Then again, Jameis Winston hurt his foot on Monday, so it just goes to show this thing is a long way from over.