Houston Texans Trade for Jimmy Garoppolo?

For the majority of the off-season there’s been chatter from a certain segment of the football talking people that the Houston Texans should trade for San Francisco 49ers second string quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. That chatter intensified recently when people who make their living talking football were scrounging for things to talk about.

This chatter was picked up by our friends Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast recently.

And the folks over at Toro Times discussed the possibility recently as well. Of course, it’s an easy stretch to connect the dots between former New England Patriot quarterback Garoppolo and former Patriot personnel man turned Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio.

Toro Times

[The Texans] might have some interest in “Jimmy G” as he does have ties with current Texans general manager Nick Caserio and others with Houston from their days with the New England Patriots.

Houston seems to keep anything about their roster close to their vest, but they’ve really never said that current quarterback — second-year player Davis Mills — is the long-term answer at the quarterback position, but as of right now before training camp has began, Mills is the QB1 of the franchise.

Pro Football Talk

The Texans.

Plenty of connections exist between Garoppolo and the Texans executives who worked in New England when Garoppolo was there. Is he better than Davis Mills? Yes. The question is whether the Texans prefer to let Mills try to find a ceiling that could be higher than Garoppolo’s.

Over the course of his eight years in the league, Garoppolo has participated in 63 games, started 47 - most with the 49ers over the last three seasons before they acquired Trey Lance. Garoppolo completed 960 passes on 1418 attempts for a 67.7 completion percentage and 11,852 yards. He’s tossed 71 touchdowns, 38 interceptions and carried a career passer rating of 98.9.

Without Tyrod Taylor on the bench, the Texans are perilously thin behind second year quarterback Davis Mills. For the right price, and team friendly terms, trading for Garoppolo makes a lot of sense on paper. Does his chemistry match the existing offense?

Most importantly, would Garoppolo rain or shine in a Pep Hamilton offense? If the Texans offer Mills every chance to win, and he flounders, could Garoppolo come off the bench and return to his 2019 form, where he helped the 49ers win 13 games?

At the end of the day, the only truly important question, however, is how will Garoppolo look in a battle red helmet? Kidding...

What do you think? Is Garoppolo worth the trade and cap space capital? Should Houston just keep on with Tankathon 2021 the sequel? Does the team have enough core talent to make a true run in ‘22 with a proven winner under center?