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Matthew Stafford is on the trading block, and the 49ers are looking for an upgrade at quarterback. Until the 32-year-old is officially moved, his name will be tied to San Francisco in any discussion of his eventual landing spot.
One of the key components in a possible acquisition for the 49ers will be the type of compensation they’re willing to unload for Stafford. NFL.com analyst and former Texans first-round pick David Carr suggested San Francisco give Detroit two first-round picks in exchange for the veteran quarterback since they have something close to a Super Bowl-ready roster.
When the 49ers aren’t dealing with an avalanche of injuries, this is one of the most complete teams in the league. We saw what they could be when they made the Super Bowl in 2019, and quite frankly, they put together an impressive 2020 campaign, with a number of their star players sidelined for a majority of the season. We know Kyle Shanahan’s team is capable of getting back to the Super Bowl, and there aren’t a ton of holes. That’s why GM John Lynch can afford to theoretically give up two first-rounders. Sure, he could try to hold the price to a first and a second, but I wouldn’t let the difference between these two options deter me from pulling the trigger.
That’s a lot!
One key note here is that a number of players from the 49ers’ Super Bowl roster won’t likely be with the club in 2021 with more than 40 players set to hit free agency. It’s realistic they lose three or more starters in the free agent market this offseason.
Secondly, there are a number of teams that won’t have quarterbacks at all going into 2021 that could benefit from adding a plug-and-play veteran like Stafford who already has a 5,000-yard season to his name.
That’s where San Francisco differs from a team like Indianapolis or Chicago, which Carr also said should unload two first-round picks for Stafford. They have Jimmy Garoppolo under contract. They’ve won most of their games when he starts and they went to a Super Bowl in his only full year as a starter. They’ll need a long-term upgrade barring a significant jump in production from Garoppolo, but swapping a pair of firsts for a quarterback that’s entering Year 13 seems like a pretty drastic swing.
NBC Sports’ Peter King suggested a future second-round pick and Garoppolo for Stafford. That’s the type of deal that might make the 49ers perk up in trade talks with the Lions. Unless Kyle Shanahan is head-over-heels for Stafford, general manager John Lynch very likely hangs up the phone at the mention of an additional first-round pick. They may not even be willing to shed this year’s No. 12 overall pick given their bevy of needs at other key positions.
Stafford would certainly give the 49ers’ offense an added down-field dimension that would conceivably make them harder to defend, but San Francisco would need to think extremely highly of him and believe he’s the missing piece for a Super Bowl run in order to even begin entertaining a swap involving two first-round selections.
