The uncertainty around Jimmy Garoppolo’s future has a lot to do with a lack of clarity about his market. One team tied to Garoppolo, the Cleveland Browns, appears to be out of the mix. Browns beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mary Kay Cabot, on Wednesday reported the Browns don’t intend to pursue Garoppolo via trade regardless of how the Deshaun Watson suspension plays out.
Watson’s suspension figured to be the domino that would determine whether they’d want the 49ers’ QB. Jacoby Brissett is their backup signal caller and there was a thought that the Browns might be happier moving into 2022 with Garoppolo to fill in the space between the start of the year and whenever Watson becomes available. If that’s not the case, the team could be out of options in the trade market.
Perhaps the Browns will change their minds if Watson is out for the entire year. Brissett has had a nice career, but he’s 14-23 as a starting QB with an 83.0 career rating. They might also be waiting to see if Garoppolo gets released and they can acquire him without giving up a pick to do so.
Should the Browns tap out of the Garoppolo sweepstakes, the only team left that makes a ton of sense going into camp is the 49ers’ NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks. Garoppolo would undoubtedly be an upgrade to their QB situation, but they may not necessarily be aiming for a more competitive quarterback. That would take them out of the running as well.
There’s still a lot of time between mid-July and the start of the regular season so things could change, but as July winds down, the 49ers are running out of options.
