The San Francisco 49ers officially handed the proverbial keys to the car to Trey Lance this week. However, now backup, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a hot trade commodity.
The New York Giants (#TogetherBlue) are the new betting favorite to land Jimmy Garoppolo at @betonline_ag:
Giants (+200)
Browns (+225)
Seahawks (+350)
Texans (+500)
Lions (+600)
Bears (14/1)
Jets (20/1)
Saints (22/1)— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) July 27, 2022
The only way Garoppolo could become a hotter asset is if he hit the free agency market. Given his over $24 million salary, the 49ers could cut ties with the veteran instead of keeping him on the team as an understudy to Lance. That would make the quarterback more appetizing to potential suitors.
One team with reported interest in the 30-year-old quarterback is the Houston Texans. Jeff Howe of The Athletic cited the connection with Nick Caserio as a selling point for the move.
Bringing in Garoppolo would make sense for the Texans general manager, Caserio. He was with the New England Patriots when the team selected Garoppolo in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Does Jimmy Garoppolo make sense for the Texans?
On a surface level, the move makes sense for Houston, especially if the 49ers release Garoppolo. At that point, he would be cheap, and if the team wanted to, Garoppolo has a winning pedigree that he brings to the table.
However, the team is not built to win right now. The Texans are in year two of a rebuild and are more than a quarterback away from being contenders. As a matter of fact, the quarterback position could be one of Houston’s best positions.
Do the Texans need a new quarterback?
Davis Mills is coming into his second year, his first as a full-time starting quarterback. If the Texans brought in Garoppolo, that is essentially a vote of no confidence in the sophomore quarterback.
Sure, Mills’ career got off to a rough start last year. However, he showed flashes during his 11 starts last season.
Mills was a rookie last year; of course, he had ups and downs. It is debatable that he had more ups than downs, despite the 2-9 record the team had with him.
The team was competitive with him, especially down the stretch. The Texans were .500 in its final four games of the season. They beat the lowly Jaguars as one of those victories, but the win over the Chargers is what kept Los Angeles out of the playoffs.
The Titans game was also incredibly close, which would have had massive playoff implications. So, to suggest the Texans need Garoppolo to be competitive is ridiculous.
With Mills leading the way, the Texans were competitive last season. Another year of experience for the quarterback could lead to more wins for Houston this season. However, the world may never know if the Texans bring Garoppolo in to replace Mills.
