What It Means:

There is "still work to be done", according to Rapoport, but all signs point to Garoppolo avoiding the franchise tag and San Francisco avoiding a $23.56 million cap hit. Garoppolo finally got a chance to start following his midseason trade, leading the Niners to a perfect 5-0 record in his appearances. Only 26, Garoppolo's new deal should be worth at least $20 million on average.

Among the 45 quarterbacks to drop back at least 100 times in 2017, Garoppolo's 0.35 Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back was the best rate. His 56.45 percent Passing Success Rate – the percent of drop backs resulting in positive value – was tops as well.