Pros and Cons of the Steelers trading for Jimmy Garoppolo

Cons of trading for Garoppolo

Honestly, he did not play poorly covering for Tom Brady when he was injured. Had he played an entire season for the Patriots in 2016, it’s conceivable he could have had better stats than 2019. Maybe he performs better with the Steelers. Considering any team, the Steelers field in 2022 would be nearly as talented as the 2016 Patriots team.

So the question comes to could Garoppolo over-perform playing for Mike Tomlin, or would his production be no better than Rudolph. Possibly he could play better in a Steelers offense. Thus it comes to risk. Is it worth the draft capital for the trade?

Third, there is Garoppolo’s contract. Jimmy will make $27 million in 2022. The 49ers save $25.6 million of their cap hit in a trade. However, the Steelers then pay Jimmy’s salary. Would the Steelers be willing to pay that much? Considering they probably would not entertain signing Bridgewater if he is asking $20 million-plus.

The finances do not make sense for a player who has Mason Rudolph talent. The only option would be to renegotiate Jimmy’s contract and see if he would take less over, say, three seasons and draft a quarterback in 2023 to have him sit behind Jimmy for a year. But then he’s in the same situation as he is in San Francisco. So it’s doubtful he would want to go back to the same situation of helping groom a rookie.