NFL: San Francisco 49ers should trade for RGIII to win now
San Francisco 49ers suffered a big blow this Sunday, with their starting multi-million dollar quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo getting injured. In the fourth quarter, Garoppolo, in trying to get the first down, scrambled to his left and twisted his knee down the sideline near the first down marker. That play effectively ended the hopes of 49ers to come back in the game or even crashed hopes to what could be an effective season.
According to the head coach Kyle Shanahan, they fear Garoppolo has an ACL tear, which means his season is over. But, it is too early to kill the 49ers' season as well. It is just week 3 and they play in the division where there is no clear number 2 behind the cruising division favorites in LA Rams.
Shanahan and 49ers will add depth behind their current back up quarterback CJ Beathard. Unfortunately, there aren't many good options that are available in free agency, considering the fact that they wouldn't bring back Colin Kaepernick, the best QB available, with his current deposition against NFL and the team.
But, there is one intriguing option available via trade for 49ers. Robert Griffin III, who is currently number 3 in the Ravens' depth chart could be the best option available for the 49ers. The lone season RGIII excelled on, his rookie season, came with Kyle Shanahan as his Offensive coordinator when they were both with the Washington Redskins. RGIII broke several rookie records and also won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award despite getting injured in week 14 against his current team Baltimore Ravens.
This is the best case scenario for both the 49ers and RG3. The San Francisco 49ers believed that they have their franchise quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo. But, they do not have a viable backup option behind him. The team win or lose depends on the play of the quarterback. They do not have a very good defense, which will put all the weight of winning on the quarterback. CJ Beathard is not that quarterback to help you win games when necessary.
But, RG3 on the other hand, could be a different option, who can help them win games now and could also be the long-term back up option for the 49ers. He had a very good preseason that prompted the Ravens to keep him as the third option behind the starter Joe Flacco and the rookie Lamar Jackson. RG3 could do damage not only by throwing the football, but also by running with it. He has that dual-threat dynamic, that opens up the playbook for Shanahan to have both the QBs on the field at the same time.
RG3 could also benefit from this trade. He is currently number 3 to Joe Flacco with the Ravens, who is keeping him as an insurance in case of emergency. There is no guarantee that RG3 will get a chance to start right away for the Ravens even if something were to happen to Flacco. The rookie Lamar Jackson would be getting that chance. This trade would not only let him start right away but also gives him almost a full season to audition for the 49ers and the other 31 teams, where many teams could use a viable back-up behind their starter.
It is a Win-Win-Win situation for all the parties involved. It wouldn't cost much for the 49ers to get RG3 from the Ravens, nothing more than a conditional sixth-round pick and he gives a better chance to Win now and keep the 49ers in the race for the wild-card spot. RG3 gets his shot to prove that he could be a viable starter again like Case Keenum and Ryan Fitzpatrick are doing, and finally the Ravens will get a draft pick out of the quarterback they don't need and also free up a roster position to fill any other roster need.
It's also a risk-reward situation for the 49ers who are essentially out of the division race, but the way Week 3 turned up with the stunning losses of Vikings to Bills and Jaguars to Titans, this league is a week to week league and it is too early to shut the doors on 49ers. If RG3 could remain healthy, which is the risk, the door is still open for them, the reward