The San Francisco 49ers have lost Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending foot injury, which means they must now turn to rookie Brock Purdy, who was the final pick (“Mr. Irrelevant”) in April’s NFL draft.
In theory, the 49ers starting a third-string quarterback is bad news for the team’s playoff hopes. Purdy was good enough to help the Niners defeat the Miami Dolphins 33-17 on Sunday, though, and with a strong supporting cast around him, the rookie won’t have to carry the team.
This is all relevant to the Denver Broncos because the Broncos acquired San Francisco’s 2023 first-round draft pick from the Dolphins as part of the Bradley Chubb trade earlier this season. So if the 49ers miss the playoffs, Denver will have a higher pick in the first round.
As things stand now, San Francisco is currently alive and well in the playoff race with an 8-4 record. Unless things go terribly wrong at quarterback over the final five games, the 49ers appear to still be on track to make the postseason. If that happens, the lowest their first-round pick could be is 19th overall.
The Carolina Panthers added a wrinkle to the QB market on Monday when they parted ways with Baker Mayfield, who might now become another option for San Francisco.
Regardless of who ends up playing QB for San Francisco to close out the season, fans in Denver who want a higher pick in the draft will be rooting for the 49ers’ downfall.
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