With the attention of the football world fixated on the NFL playoffs, The Faithful are waiting to see how the 49ers plan to pursue contract negotiations with promising starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. While making an appearance on Murph & Mac Monday morning, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport laid out two possible ways the 49ers can keep Garoppolo in San Francisco.
“I don’t know how dormant it’ll lay, the 49ers are pretty proactive,” Rapoport said. “Obviously they’re going to be negotiating against the franchise tag. So you can either do it two ways. You can wait until he gets tagged and then start talks, that’s what the Redskins and Cousins have done. That’s what [Drew] Brees did a few years back. That’s sort of been the move.”
This season was the second consecutive year Kirk Cousins — once rumored to be a trade candidate for the 49ers — played under a franchise tag from the Washington Redskins. Similarly, Drew Brees received the franchise tag from the New Orleans Saints in 2012.
If this is the route the 49ers decide to take, the timeline for reaching a deal with Garoppolo could stretch until late next season and he could receive a non-exclusive franchise tag worth around $23 million. That allows Garoppolo to add more experience to his NFL resume, which currently consists of only seven undefeated starts in 23 appearances over four years, and prove himself to the 49ers as a legitimate starting quarterback.
“Or you can say, ‘we’re just going to tag you in a couple of months so let’s start working on a deal now based on a fact that we’re going to tag you.’” Rapoport said. “The 49ers might do that. They are very, very upfront, aggressive and proactive in securing these contract extensions. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start working on it soon.”
Without a doubt, Garoppolo lived up to his expectations in the final five weeks of the season. If the 49ers aren’t concerned about his small sample size at the NFL level, they could utilize the franchise tag as their backup plan and work to draw up a long-term deal with Garoppolo this offseason.
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip 7:42 to for Rapoport on Garoppolo.
