Analyzing San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Options For 2021 NFL Season

It’s the worst-kept secret in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers looking to upgrade from Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. While there’s a chance Garoppolo returns in 2021, there’s also a ton of options out there for San Francisco.

With the offseason heating up and NFL rumors taking off at a near never-ending clip, I thought it made sense to look at the 49ers’ options at quarterback moving forward.

San Francisco 49ers Retain Jimmy Garoppolo

Occam’s razor. The smallest number of assumptions between theories usually represents the correct theory. It’s a longstanding philosophical belief. And it could play a role for the 49ers as they look at their quarterback situation.

Jimmy Garoppolo is under contract for the 2021 season. He’s set to be the 12th highest-paid player at his position in terms of a cap hit. San Francisco brought back quarterback’s coach Rich Scangarello, who helped Garoppolo succeed with the team back in 2017.

This scenario is less risky than others in that Garoppolo knows Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He’s familiar with the 49ers’ supporting cast. And while the upside isn’t as high compared to those I will mention below, San Francisco retaining Garoppolo could be the end game here. However, it still seems unlikely.

San Francisco 49ers Trade For Sam Darnold

Shanahan loved himself some Sam Darnold leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft. It just wasn’t to be due to the fact that San Francisco had traded for Garoppolo less than a calendar year before. Might the head coach ask that general manager John Lynch right that wrong? It’s likely.

San Francisco has been in contact with the Jets about the 23-year-old Darnold, who has two more years remaining on his rookie deal. The former top-three pick would cost these 49ers a mere $920,000 base salary in 2021 before they make a decision on his 2022 option.

Meanwhile, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Jets are not going to get a first-round pick for Darnold. Rather, the team is expected to receive a second or third rounder.

Some might question whether Darnold is an upgrade over Garoppolo. At this point, we have no idea. He had to work under the ineffective Adam Gase with the Jets over the past two seasons. Prior to that, Darnold’s rookie campaign was defined by another lackluster head coach in Todd Bowles.

What does this all mean? It has to be enticing to San Francisco. The idea of seeing Darnold work with Shanahan while having ample skill-position threats in Santa Clara. Sure this would be risky. But the upside is there.

San Francisco 49ers Trade For Deshaun Watson

MORE FROM FORBESDeshaun Watson Trade Rumors: 49ers Must Do Everything To Acquire Quarterback

It will be one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NFL history. When the Houston Texans finally decide that their relationship with Deshaun Watson can’t be salvaged, the league itself will change on a dime.

We already know that the reigning NFL passing champion wants out of dodge mere months after signing an extension with Houston. It’s also known that the 49ers are interested in trading for the still-young 25-year-old quarterback.

A first-round pick of the Texans back in 2017, Watson was absolutely brilliant this past season for an otherwise bad team. He tallied north of 5,000 total yards with 36 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Obviously, Watson would be a dramatic upgrade over Garoppolo in San Francisco.

The question here is compensation. Any move for Watson would likely require exhausting three first-round picks, including the 12th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Houston is also seeking either a quarterback or a couple defenders.

Garoppolo would likely be involved given new Texans general manager Nick Caserio’s relationship with him dating back to their days together with the Patriots. While San Francisco would more than likely push back against dealing Nick Bosa, another defender might have to be included. Defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead come to mind first.

Sure this would be an absolutely huge bounty to pay. But the idea of Watson excelling in Kyle Shanahan’s offense might be too appealing for the 49ers to pass up on.

San Francisco 49ers Sign Veteran In Free Agency

The 49ers did re-sign exclusive rights free agent Josh Rosen just recently. He will likely be one of three players in the 49ers’ quarterback room next season. It’s a room that is very unlikely to include C.J. Beathard or Nick Mullens.

Even if the 49ers pull off a trade for a starter-caliber quarterback, they will have to look at the veteran free-agent market for a backup. The good news here is that there’s a ton of backup options.

However, it seems highly unlikely that San Francisco will be able to pluck its next starter out of a thin free-agent class in that regard. While the Cowboys might move on from Dak Prescott, he’s not going to hit free agency. The likes of Jacoby Brissett, Mitchell Trubisky, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick can’t be seen as upgrades, either. This is the least-likely scenario for San Francisco.

San Francisco 49ers Trade Up For A Quarterback In 2021 NFL Draft

John Lynch and Co. firmly believe that they are in the Super Bowl conversation despite an injury-plagued six-win 2020 campaign.

That’s what makes it so hard to believe that San Francisco will bite the bullet and move up to the No. 2 selection in April’s draft for a quarterback. It’s not that Justin Fields and Zach Wilson can’t be franchise guys. Rather, expecting either one to perform like that as a rookie is foolish.

It would also take a huge trade package to entice the Jets. That includes the 12th pick, at least one more future first-round picks and multiple second-round selections.

Even if it would cost more to trade for Watson, the gap between these two hypothetical trades wouldn’t be big enough for the 49ers to justify trading up for an unproven quarterback. The likelier scenario for San Francisco in the draft is going quarterback in Round 1 while retaining Garoppolo. Depending on his draft stock moving forward, that could include North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.

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