© Sergio Estrada | 2018 Sep 16
Do the 49ers want Matt Stafford? At this point, it’s unclear. Do they have what it takes to acquire Matt Stafford? According to veteran NFL reporter Peter King, yes, and it’s really not that much.
In King’s Monday morning column, he listed the 49ers as one of seven teams that could vie for the soon-to-be 33-year-old Stafford, who just reportedly asked the Lions to trade him this offseason. The Lions reportedly accepted that request, and are actively shopping him.
King has the 49ers listed as the fourth most likely team to land Stafford, behind, in-order, the Colts, Broncos and Patriots. Part of the reason the Niners are fourth is King isn’t sure the 49ers are keen on parting with Garoppolo, which if you take John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan at their word, is a reasonable assumption. But is it really reasonable to take them at their word? What are they gonna say? “Yeah, we’re looking for any opportunity to move on from this guy? Do you have any leads???”
What’s most interesting is that King believes the asking price for Stafford wouldn’t be all that high from the 49ers’ perspective. Specifically, he believes they’d agree to swap Stafford with Garoppolo, plus a sweetener of San Francisco’s 2022 second-round pick.
If the 49ers, or Kyle Shanahan rather, are indeed willing to offer that for Stafford, it will be up to the Lions to weigh that next to other potential offers. According to King, the Colts are likely to offer their 21st overall pick, the Broncos two-first rounders or a second-rounder and Drew Lock, and the Patriots their 15th overall pick.
But wait, the 49ers’ have the No. 12 overall pick. That remains a fairly large variable here. If San Francisco is willing to part with that in exchange for Stafford, as John Middlekauff recommended they do on KNBR last week, that could catapult them to the top of the bidding war.
As always, we are left to speculate as to what Shanahan really wants, and how much he’s really willing to give up. With so many options at the QB position this offseason, the answer to that will become clear here soon.
