Baker Mayfield is sent from the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers in a trade. That fills all the open quarterback spots in the NFL. So where to with Jimmy Garoppolo?

Munich/San Francisco – After a long standstill in the Baker Mayfield case, there was finally decisive movement: The quarterback was sent to the Carolina Panthers for a late pick in the 2024 draft and will most likely become a starter there.

With the Seattle Seahawks apparently committed to Drew Lock as their incumbent quarterback, all 32 NFL starter jobs – or at least the protagonists expected to fight for them – are now more or less clear-cut.

Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t get any of those jobs. He and the San Francisco 49ers remain, as of now, stuck with each other.

49ers won’t cut Garoppolo

The situation on the West Coast is deadlocked. The 49ers’ position is clear: “No, we’re not going to cut him. He’s either going to play for us or he’s going to play for another team,” general manager John Lynch said at the Combine in March.

However, that statement was also four months ago. “We’re looking for a trade partner,” head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed recently.

While second-year quarterback Trey Lance has not yet been officially named the starter, there is little doubt after these statements that he will lead the 49ers onto the field in Week One.

Garoppolo as loser in Mayfield trade

And Garoppolo himself? He didn’t comment in recent months, instead working on his comeback after shoulder surgery.

He is expected to be fully fit again for the start of the training camp. But which team is he under contract with then?

With the 49ers, he will earn around 25.6 million dollars next season, even slightly higher is his cap hit of over 27 million dollars.

An expensive backup for the 49ers – and arguably too expensive a backup for any other team.

Jimmy G remains most expensive backup

The 30-year-old and the Niners are the losers in the Mayfield quake in Cleveland. As macabre as it sounds, Garoppolo may have to hope for injuries through the first eight NFL game days. That’s when the NFL’s trade window closes.

Until that happens, however, Jimmy G will remain the league’s most expensive backup. On a team that would love to get rid of him.