It seems as if we’re going to get a new Jimmy Garoppolo rumor every day until he is no longer a member of the 49ers.
On Wednesday night, Cam Marino formally of USA Today, reported that the Falcons are one of five teams inquiring about trading for Jimmy Garoppolo. Interestingly, Marino said that the Browns are not one of those teams, and that Cleveland does not have interest contrary to reports.
49ers play-by-play broadcaster and KNBR host Greg Papa is calling BS on the report, however, at least the part that the Browns don’t have interest. Papa, who it would stand to reason is more plugged in than a “Falcons analyst” who doesn’t write for a major publication, says he has it on good authority that the Browns are absolutely interested in trading for Garoppolo, depending on Deshaun Watson’s suspension.
Here are Papa’s comments from today’s Papa & Lund Show, edited for brevity:
I would say right away, the Cleveland Browns do have interest in Jimmy Garoppolo, there’s no doubt. They are just waiting for what’s going to happen to the guy they gave $230 million fully guaranteed to.
Deshaun and how many games he gets suspended for, if any, if it’s indefinite, if it’s somewhere in the middle, that’ll impact what the Cleveland Browns will do. But I do not agree with that. I have great sources on this that the Browns have shown interest in Jimmy Garoppolo.
They’re not going to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo if Deshaun Watson is not suspended. That’s not going to happen. Deshaun Watson will be their quarterback, Brissett will be their backup. They can say all they want about what level of confidence they have in Jacoby Brissett, but they paid him as a backup, he is a backup player.
If Deshaun does get a sizable suspension, then I think they will have interest of Jimmy Garoppolo. Then it’s a question of what’s the compensation, how much of Jimmy’s salary do they want to pay.
Right away Cam Marino states the Browns don’t have interest contrary to reports. I think it’s false, I know it is. I know they have interest. They’ve looked into Jimmy Garoppolo and they’re waiting.
I’m here to tell you they do have interest in Jimmy Garoppolo, contrary to what Cam is saying. They do.
According to Ian Rapoport, the 49ers will not be able to trade Garoppolo until mid-August, when he is expected to be fully recovered from his shoulder surgery. According to Adam Schefter, the 49ers told Garoppolo’s agent Don Yee that they can begin looking for trade suitors immediately.
On the Browns side, Watson is expected to receive a lengthy suspension after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women this offseason.
