On Friday, the San Francisco 49ers made a shocking trade, giving up the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, along with two additional first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Dolphins for the third-overall pick this year. With this trade, the future of Jimmy Garoppolo is in question.

Even though the Chicago Bears have their new QB1, CBS Sports has Chicago as a top landing spot for Garoppolo.

The Bears are still rumored to be in play for Russell Wilson. Knowing this, there’s a good chance they’d give up on Andy Dalton if the opportunity to upgrade the position came.

Publicly, the 49ers have committed to Garoppolo and have no plans on trading him. This alone would shut down any trade to Chicago. But if the 49ers draft a quarterback, which appears likely, this would change.

The amount of draft capital given up by the 49ers likely means they’re going to draft a quarterback. It’s unlikely that any team gives up two first-round picks, along with a third-round pick to not draft a quarterback.

Whether it’s Zach Wilson, Justin Fields or Trey Lance, the 49ers won’t be sticking with Garoppolo for long.

If there’s a trade though, it might not happen until after the draft. If the 49ers draft a quarterback they feel is NFL-ready, they might field calls for Garoppolo.

Garoppolo would be a major upgrade from Dalton. He’d still be running a similar offense to the one he did with the 49ers, giving the Bears a better chance to win right away.

The big issue is Garoppolo’s contract. He’s due $26.4 million against the salary cap this year and $27 million next year. Chicago would have to clear up even more cap space, which might be the biggest reason why they don’t make a play to upgrade from Dalton.

If the Bears try to trade for Garoppolo, they could be giving up a decent amount of draft picks. A fair trade would be a second-round pick and a fourth or fifth-round pick. If it’s before the 2021 draft, the Bears could give the 52nd pick and the 164th pick this year. Maybe they’d have to add a late 2022 draft pick as well.

If a trade is after the 2021 draft, the Bears could still offer a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft.

Garoppolo has a no-trade clause this season, so he’d have to be interested in coming to Chicago. The good news is, he has two years left on his deal. If the Bears draft a quarterback on Day 2 or Day 3, he can sit and learn the offense for two-years.

There’s a chance they wouldn’t need to draft a quarterback for the future, as Garoppolo is only 29. The Bears could use their picks over the next few seasons to build a solid team around and make them a Super Bowl contender. They’d have a better idea of what to do if the trade takes place before the draft.

The only issue is, there’s a big risk of injury. Garoppolo missed most of 2018 and 2020 due to injury. In 2018, he played in four games, going 1-3 as a starter. In 2020, he played in six games, going 3-3 as a starter. Chicago would need a solid backup quarterback.

Overall, he’s been a winner throughout his career when he’s played. At 24-8 as a starter, Garoppolo still has a high ceiling. There’s a good chance some of his best football is ahead of him. Remember, this guy took the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019.

Garoppolo has thrown 51 touchdowns and 26 interceptions since 2014. He’s passed for 8,042 yards in 977 attempts, completing 67.5% of them, with a passer rating of 98.9 in his NFL career.

He’s a winner and is an instant upgrade for the Bears. If they make a move for him, their Super Bowl odds will dramatically improve. A healthy Garoppolo will make Chicago a playoff team.