THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Wait and see with Jimmy G

If you thought we were done with Jimmy G …

Hah!

Everyone around the NFL seems to believe that Jimmy Garoppolo will wind up with the Seahawks — despite all Pete Carroll has said about his love affair with Drew Lock.

Nobody is taking Pete seriously — nor GM John Schneider, who carried on about how smitten he was when Lock was entering the league out of Missouri.

If Lock actually starts the season as QB1 in Seattle (and Garoppolo’s not on the roster, hurriedly cramming on Seahawks offensive schemes), Carroll no doubt will make a point of saying that we should have trusted him all along.

Of course, that scenario only works if Lock and the Seahawks play well — which is seen as a no-hoper throughout the industry.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, NFL people aren’t discussing whether or not Jimmy G will head to Seattle.

Just …

When?

A whole new trove of Garoppolo tales burst into the public this week, just as the Seahawks (and the rest of the league) began training camp.

LET’S PICK just one prediction, shall we?

There are lots of options, but here’s the take from Cody Benjamin, who covers pro football for CBS Sports. Benjamin believes the 49ers will hang on to Garoppolo as long as possible during camp, but find no acceptable trading partners willing to take on Jimmy’s $27 million salary for this year, and eventually they’ll simply have to release him.

At which point, the Seahawks can pounce — working out a deal with Garoppolo that fits with their finances and cap space.

On Monday, Benjamin summed up the Jimmy-to-Seattle this way …

"It just makes too much sense," he wrote. "This is the last place the 49ers want to deal him, but at some point they're gonna have to pay for retaining Garoppolo so long.

“And, sure, Seattle has reportedly been lukewarm about other veteran QBs, but they know Jimmy G, and he also just so happens to be cut from Pete Carroll's preferred cloth — a point guard at his best when he's leaning on the run.”

Benjamin’s theory on how this is likely to work is hardly a secret.

The 49ers, who have given Garoppolo’s agents permission to explore trade options, would need a miracle to find a team willing to pay $27 million for one year of Jimmy G —especially since the off-season QB merry-go-round seemed to have stopped (at last) when

Baker Mayfield was traded to Carolina for a fifth-round draft choice.

San Francisco isn’t exactly in a rush to make a similar deal with Seattle (even if the Seahawks WOULD pay the $27 million), since both teams are in the NFC West and it makes no sense at all to help a rival.

But the 49ers truly are stuck.

They’ve handed the starting job to second-year wonderchild Trey Lance, they couldn’t find a market for Garoppolo months ago (when he was coming off shoulder surgery), and now there’s nothing left but to release him.

Mark Aug. 30 on your calendars, because the 49ers can keep a free-agent Garoppolo out of Seattle’s clutches through most of training camp — but they have to release him them, or pay him when we head to September.

So why dally?

Well, the 49ers are thinking that if the quarterback who took them to a Super Bowl (and another NFC title game), SURELY is headed to the Seahawks …

Give them as little preparation time as possible.

IF THE 49ers pull off the stall, then actually see Garoppolo land in Seattle — like, on Aug. 31 — they will have kept Jimmy out of the Hawks’ three preseason games, and given him precious little time for reps before the regular season opener.

That one comes up on Sept. 12, you’ll recall, and involves the Denver Broncos (and their tryout of a new QB, an aging veteran named Wilson).

Ironically, the Seahawks’ second game is against San Francisco.

In case you’re wondering why there’s so much fuss about the Seahawks adding a solid (but not spectacular) quarterback like Garoppolo, consider a relentlessly researched story that was just published in The Athletic.

This piece by Mike Sando went about as deep as you can get, while dividing 35 veteran QBs into five tiers based on their play from 2018 through 2021.

RESULTS reflected voting from 50 NFL coaches and executives, including six general managers, eight head coaches, 10 evaluators, 12 coordinators, six quarterback coaches and seven execs whose specialties include analytics, game management and the salary cap.

There were some interesting results — like Russell Wilson falling into Tier 2 for the first time and Jimmy G checking in at No. 16 overall.

But for the Seahawks’ purposes, the crucial landing spot was Drew Lock at No. 34, the very bottom of Tier 4. This is from a head coach …

“All kinds of talent. I don’t know how he is wired … I want to like him and I’m pulling for him, but there is something missing there.”

An offensive coordinator couldn’t grasp Lock’s performances …

“The thing about him is, all the bad decisions he made in Denver when he got a chance to play were all the same bad decisions he made at Missouri.

“He is not a good decision maker, and he doesn’t play smart.

“It’s not just bad decisions. He does crazy stuff on top of it.”

Whew!

By the way, the QB considered dead last at No. 35 (and the only one in Tier 5) was Geno Smith.

Yo …

Anyone in the Seahawks Universe still wondering about all the Jimmy G chat?

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published monthly during the off season, and weekly beginning in October.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”