Why the 49ers Say They're Not Interested in Matthew Stafford
Here's a plot twist.
The 49ers have the inside edge to trade for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, a source extremely close to the situation told me. But the 49ers might not want Stafford, at least not at the Detroit's current asking price.
"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," NFL Network's Mike Garafolo said on television Saturday. "Not according to the folks in San Francisco who say, 'Nope, not us.' Now, I can't guarantee you that they're not going to trade for a quarterback this offseason and Jimmy Garoppolo won't be elsewhere, 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."
Here's how I interpret this plot twist.
I think the 49ers want to trade Jimmy Garoppolo, but he has no trade value because everyone thinks the 49ers want Stafford and will cut Garoppolo. So they're trying to pump up Garoppolo's value by saying they don't want Stafford.
I also think the Lions expected to receive the 49ers first-round pick in the upcoming draft -- pick No. 12. Failing that, I think the Lions hoped to get the 49ers' first-round pick in 2022 in the deal. The Lions currently own the seventh pick in the 2021 draft, and want another first rounder that they can package with their own to move up and draft a quarterback to replace Stafford.
But the 49ers don't seem to want to trade any first-round picks for Stafford. As they shouldn't. Good for them if they refused to send anything more than Day 2 picks to Detroit for a quarterback the Lions don't even want anymore. They can't afford him. They want to replace him with a rookie. So they can't expect to get a first rounder in return for him.
The 49ers should be patient and wait for the Lions to lower their asking price. Because they will lower it. They have no choice. They owe him a $10 million roster bonus March 17. They'll trade him before then.