Asking price, health why Panthers didn't trade for Garoppolo?

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Insider offers update on why Panthers didn't trade for 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 10/3/22

Baker Mayfield of the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers veteran Jimmy Garoppolo are two of the most criticized quarterbacks starting for NFL teams today. Before the Panthers acquired Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns in July, they were heavily linked with Garoppolo in trade rumors as 2021 rookie Trey Lance was atop the 49ers depth chart.

No such deal between Carolina and San Francisco materialized, and Joe Person of The Athletic noted that Panthers head coach Matt Rhule was asked during Monday's press conference about his team's reported interest in Garoppolo. Person added a few reasons for why talks between the two clubs "never got very far" this spring or summer:

Matt Rhule says he's not going to talk about another guy when asked about Panthers' potential interest in Jimmy Garoppolo during the offseason.

I'm told talks never got very far because of the money, draft capital it would have taken and Jimmy G's injury situation.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 3, 2022

Garoppolo underwent shoulder surgery in March that kept him sidelined through the majority of the offseason, and the 30-year-old was on track to have his $24.2 million base salary for 2022 become guaranteed ahead of Week 1 until he agreed to a pay cut via a restructured contract to stay with the 49ers in late August. He's now San Francisco's QB1 after Lance suffered a season-ending broken right ankle on Sept. 18.

For what it's worth, San Francisco general manager John Lynch denied an earlier report that claimed he was "telling interested teams that he (had) an offer in hand of two second-round picks for Garoppolo" before Jimmy G. went under the knife. It's unclear exactly what Lynch wanted for Garoppolo's services during the offseason.

Per ESPN stats, Garoppolo takes the 1-2 49ers into the "Monday Night Football" game against the 2-1 Los Angeles Rams 30th among eligible quarterbacks with a 27.2 total QBR this season. He's 16th with an 89.2 passer rating and with a 7.3 yards-per-pass-attempt average.

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