Seahawks doing homework on Jimmy Garoppolo trade?

Jimmy Garoppolo has generated internal discussions among Seahawks brass, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, who adds the team has gone through film of how the four-plus-year 49ers starter would fit. While the Seahawks did not blink as the Panthers finalized their Mayfield trade, a Garoppolo-to-Seattle scenario appears in play.

Although it would be rather reckless if the Seahawks didn’t give Garoppolo a thorough look, given their quarterback situation, Pete Carroll said earlier this offseason he did not expect his team to make a second quarterback trade. Carroll’s QB-related words were not exactly indicative of the team’s plans with Wilson, but the Seahawks have stuck to their guns regarding the search for his successor. Mayfield-Seattle connections were repeatedly shot down, and the NFC West team is now a few weeks away from its Smith-Lock contest going into training camp.

Intra-divisional trades are rare, and not many quarterbacks have been exchanged by division rivals — Drew Bledsoe (2002) and Donovan McNabb (2010) being modern-era exceptions — but Fowler points to the Seahawks potentially waiting out the 49ers on their Garoppolo call. 

Unless an injury wrecks a team’s QB situation, the 49ers do not have many options with Garoppolo. His $24.2M salary becomes guaranteed by Week 1, and although a Monday-morning report indicated the expectation is the 49ers will find a trade partner this month, teams may be willing to test San Francisco’s patience. Considering the Seahawks’ patience on the Mayfield front, it is not too difficult to see them standing pat with its Lock-Smith setup and waiting for Garoppolo to hit free agency.

That plan would not give the 30-year-old passer much time to digest the Seahawks’ playbook, and it would open the door to a stealth Garoppolo suitor swooping in. But Garoppolo (two top-15 QBR marks in the past three years) would likely be an upgrade on what Seattle has, providing a chance for him to build up his 2023 free agency stock.

The 49ers will let Garoppolo’s camp negotiate his contract with other teams, but going from $24.2M to where teams would want his 2022 compensation to land might be a long bridge. Holding more than $16M in cap space, the Seahawks sit in the top 10 of available funds. But they surely will not be interested in paying Garoppolo nearly as much as he is currently set to make.

The ninth-year veteran has not endured a setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery. He remains on track to resuming throwing this month.