It's difficult to know what to believe when trade rumors are involved. Whispers have linked the San Francisco 49ers to Matthew Stafford since the Detroit Lions and their quarterback mutually agreed to part ways. About a third of the NFL's teams have reportedly reached out to the Lions to inquire about Stafford. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports that trade talks have gotten "hot and heavy," and the 49ers are among the teams considered to be interested.
The 49ers are denying that, or are denying that they are nearing a trade.
"There were rumors the last couple of days on Twitter that the 49ers were on the verge of a trade for Matthew Stafford with the Lions," Mike Garafolo said on NFL Network on Saturday, which was captured below by Al Sacco of the No Huddle Podcast. "Not according to the folks in San Francisco who said, 'Nope, not us.'"
The comments came after Garafolo was asked to identify the best fit for Jimmy Garoppolo, who would be the odd man out should the 49ers trade for another quarterback. Garoppolo could also be part of a trade package, should San Francisco look to move on from their starter.
"Now, I can't guarantee you that they're not going to trade for a quarterback this offseason, and Jimmy Garoppolo might be elsewhere," Garafolo continued, "but I hear a lot of positives when I talk to the folks in San Francisco with regards to how they feel about Jimmy Garoppolo. So, I'll keep him there for another season, at least, and hope that everybody around him stays healthy, and all the bad juju that's surrounding this team is gone, and they get back to playing good football with Jimmy Garoppolo."
Sacco points out that the 49ers have denied things in the past and eventually went against their own assurances.
"We're going to do everything we can to ensure that DeFo is a Niner for a long, long time. I'm sure it won't be cheap, but those are all things you have to figure out." -John Lynch
"Let's just see how this all plays out."- Al Sacco
— Al Sacco (@AlSacco49) January 30, 2021
Garoppolo has been with the 49ers since the team traded for him in 2017. However, he has missed 23 games over the past three seasons due to injury, so San Francisco may be looking to find a quarterback who might be more available to them.
Fred Warner recently told Good Morning Football that teammates believe in Garoppolo, calling the quarterback a "winner" and sharing that he expects Garoppolo to be back next season. Although, the star linebacker acknowledged that the 49ers need Garoppolo to stay on the field to compete.
"I think he's just continuing to get better each and every year," Warner said. "Obviously, he's got to be able to stay healthy, to be on the field, and give us a chance to win games and compete at a high level, but he has so much respect from all the players in that locker room just because, like I said, he is a natural-born leader, and we all look to him to rally the troops. I think he's going to come back and be better than ever."