Just when it felt like we could finally put quarterback rumors to rest and start playing some actual football, former NY Giants quarterback David Carr said on the NFL Network that the Giants should consider trading for Jimmy Garoppolo.
While it would be nothing short of stunning if the Giants actually pulled off a trade for Jimmy G, Giants fans may be thinking about how Garoppolo might fit with the franchise. Although Garoppolo is a veteran quarterback who has a lot of wins to his name, he has some significant limitations and does not quite fit the Giants time frame for Super Bowl contention.
While we need something to talk about in the dog days of summer with two weeks before training camp even starts, Jimmy G to the Giants isn’t it. Here are three reasons why it would be foolish for the Giants to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo.
3. Garoppolo does not fit Brian Daboll’s offense
Throughout his career, Garoppolo has been known as a game manager. Although he is a steady, pocket passer who is not overcome by pressure, Garoppolo does not fit the bill of a modern quarterback with immense athleticism and a big arm.
However, it’s hard to knock his career as he has won over two thirds of all the games he’s started. While his winning pedigree is a cool attribute, there is some reason to doubt that trend can continue outside of San Fransisco. Kyle Shanahan, the head coach of the San Fransisco 49ers, is often considered the best offensive mind in football, even better than Rams Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean McVay.
Shanahan crafted the offense around Garoppolo’s skillset, which featured a heavy dose of quick screens and tons of rushing plays. It also says a lot that last year San Fransisco traded three first-round picks to trade up to select Trey Lance, a raw prospect who has a huge cannon of an arm and elite athleticism.
Brian Daboll, coming over from Buffalo, coached a quarterback in Josh Allen whose skillset is very similar to Lance. Mike Kafka, the new offensive coordinator who came over from Kansas City and worked closely with Patrick Mahomes, is also experienced with an immensely athletic quarterback with a cannon of an arm. It would be weird for this staff to backpedal towards Garoppolo, whose arm came up short in both the 2020 Super Bowl and 2022 NFC Championship Game.
While Jones and Tyrod Taylor are by no means perfect, they are a lot more similar to the skillset of Lance, Allen and Mahomes than they are to Garoppolo. With a questionable offensive line, though massively improved this offseason, and an offense built around the deep ball and athleticism, Garoppolo does not make sense.
2. Garappolo would be a stopgap: not the future
While it is more than fair to question whether or not Jones is the future quarterback of the Giants due to the rocky start to his career, Garappolo is certainly not the answer. Garappolo is a 30-year- old quarterback who has limitations and significant injury and durability issues, missing multiple games in three of the last four seasons.
A 30-year-old quarterback with injury questions is not going to be the future quarterback of a franchise. This season, the Giants need to learn whether Daniel Jones can turn his skills into production on the field, because somehow, three years into his career, it feels like we know nothing about Jones. He should have the best group of receivers, running backs, tight ends, and offensive line of his career, so he needs a put up or shut up year before his contract expires next offseason.
While it would not be stunning if the Giants made the playoffs next year, this upcoming campaign is the first year of a new regime and the season is all about growth from their young players. The Giants are trying to get younger, not older, to have sustainable future success, so adding veterans who won’t be around in the future at premiere positions makes little to no sense.
1. There is no money for Jimmy G
This is exactly why the Giants won’t trade for Garoppolo – they simply do not have the money. While many fans of the NFL like to think the salary cap is a myth and that general managers can find loopholes to exploit the cap system, there is nothing Joe Schoen can do to get Garoppolo.
After being left in salary cap hell, thanks to Dave Gettleman’s harrowing roster building skills, the Giants were unable to make any significant moves this offseason. According to Onlythecap, the Giants only have $6,021,307 in cap space remaining.
Garoppolo has one year left on a large contract with the 49ers which includes a cap hit of $26,950,000 this season, more than $20 million over what the Giants could afford. While there are some moves the Giants could still make to free up some more cap space, it is hard to envision a scenario where they free up enough and, since the 49ers have just under $5 million in cap space themselves, they would not be able to eat a lot of Garoppolo’s contract to help facilitate a trade.
Also, a trade with the 49ers would require significant compensation in draft picks, which the Giants would have zero interest in giving them. Garoppolo also has no incentive to take a pay cut, so there is realistically no way to make this trade work in this case.