It seems like everyone is trying to find a way to replace Jimmy Garoppolo. While the San Francisco 49ers quarterback has proven to be a difference-maker on the football field with a regular-season record of 24-8 as a starter, he has missed most of the past three seasons due to injuries.
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the possibility of acquiring Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. A lot. Of course, it's all just traffic-generating chatter at this point as Watson has not requested a trade, and the Texans have not said they would be willing to ship off their star player.
Popular podcast host John Middlekauff, a former NFL scout, joined KNBR this week and suggested another quarterback for the 49ers to target in a trade, should the team move on from Garoppolo. Middlekauff believes that Garoppolo's 2019 season was the outlier and that San Francisco should move on from the oft-injured quarterback.
"If Jimmy Garoppolo had played 16 games and just been average, how do they not win probably eight or nine games, and they're in the playoffs, right?" Middlekauff said on the Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show (h/t to KNBR). "… I just can't roll back with Jimmy. Now, what are my options?
"I would trade pick 12 for Matt Stafford. Now, it's easy to say that, but their coach, he's talking about chewing people's knees off, so we'll see when him and Matt eventually get on the phone together."
Stafford has started 16 games in each season since 2011, with the exception of 2019, when he landed on injured reserve.
"But I think it's fair to say that, at this point in time, it's just time for a change there (for the 49ers)," Middlekauff continued. "It'd be an easy one. Getting pick 12 for Matt Stafford would be a pretty good deal, and then you could trade Jimmy and basically just transfer the money to Matt Stafford, a guy that, until the end of last season, has been very, very durable his entire career."
Middlekauff identified New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold as a potential backup option, should the 49ers fail to acquire Stafford. It sounds like the former scout is ready to see San Francisco move on from Garoppolo.
"The thing with Jimmy, you can't really get rid of Jimmy if your plan is to draft a quarterback because you're drafting at pick 12," Middlekauff added. "There's so much stuff out of your control, and if you plan on trading up, he would probably be on the team for the draft. My goal would be to get Matt Stafford."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Middlekauff below.