With the Indianapolis Colts’ long-awaited trade of former quarterback Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders finally complete, all eyes will be fixed on who the team chooses to replace him.
Sadly, market options at the position are sub-par at best and don’t offer many upgrades from what the Colts just moved on from in Wentz. With that, Indianapolis and other quarterback-needy teams may have to turn again to the trade market to stop the revolving door of signal-callers seen in recent years.
Arguably one of the top options left in that avenue after the recent trades and signings is San Francisco 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo, a player the Colts already have reported interest in.
Garoppolo, traded from New England in 2017, has been the starter in the Bay Area for the past five seasons. In that time he’s led the team to an impressive 31-15 regular-season record, including multiple playoff wins, and a Super Bowl appearance in 2019.
However, with a young second-year quarterback in Trey Lance, whom the 49ers traded up to No. 3 overall in the 2021 draft to replace Garoppolo now waiting in the wings, both sides seem keen on a split this offseason.
With the now glaringly obvious hole on the Colts roster, the dots to an option like “Jimmy G” are simple to connect, but is he really the best option for the team moving forward?
The first factor in evaluating whether this is the right move is the cost to even acquire Garoppolo from San Francisco. Estimates on this price are all over the board in the media, ranging from multiple Day 2 picks to as low as a Day 3 selection.
A fair throw at the dartboard would be somewhere in the ballpark of what the Colts just received for Wentz or slightly more, perhaps a second-round pick. The fact that Indianapolis does not have a selection before the second round this year will play a huge factor in the route the team decides to take, and parting with your top selection, which was just improved with the Wentz trade to Washington, could be a tough decision to make.
The second factor in this trade decision is the current contract that Garoppolo is playing on. Back in 2018, Garoppolo signed a five-year, $137.5 million dollar deal with the 49ers. Coming into the 2022 season, Garoppolo will be on the final year on that contract, with a cap hit just under $27 million, which is a number the cap-heavy Colts can more than afford to take on.
However, this number is just over a million dollars less than the team would have owed Wentz this upcoming year, so there isn’t much of a money-saving incentive included in this trade for Indianapolis.
A third and rather large factor in any evaluation of Garoppolo as a reliable franchise leader at the quarterback position is his ability, or at times inability to stay healthy.
In the last five seasons, Garoppolo has missed a total of 25 regular-season games, including two games missed just this past year.
On top of that, on March 8, Garoppolo underwent surgery on his shoulder that will sideline him deep into the summer. His shoulder and other recent injuries, such as his playoff thumb injury, will have to be closely evaluated by any teams looking to make a trade for him.
It would be very unwise for Indianapolis or any other team to not factor in these medical concerns in any deal for the 30-year-old quarterback.
So if the money spent is very close to that of Wentz, the compensation to acquire him is also comparable, and the injury history concerns are similar as well, it comes down to one simple question.
Is Jimmy Garoppolo, at the end of the day, a better quarterback to lead the Colts than Carson Wentz?
That question may not simply just be answered by statistics and on the field production, but instead in terms of leadership and locker room presence.
This leadership quality seems to be, from recent reports, a very large reason for the changes being made and is a main focus for the Colts in anyone brought into the building.
These are the biggest questions facing this franchise, and many jobs and futures will likely ride on the correct decision being made by the trio Colts general manager Chris Ballard, head coach Frank Reich and team owner Jim Irsay.
What say you, Colts fans? Should Indy make a move for Garoppolo? Let us know in the comments below!
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