In trading away Jimmy Garoppolo for a second-round pick, the New England Patriots are taking a tremendous risk.
There aren’t usually bombshells on a Monday, but the New England Patriots dropped one on the entire league. The team traded quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second-round pick per multiple media reports.
Garoppolo was at one time thought to be the heir apparent to Tom Brady. The former was drafted in the second round, No. 62 overall by the team back in 2014. He played solid football throughout his time in New England, appearing 17 games and throwing for 502 yards and four touchdowns in three seasons with the team.
Now, the Patriots, at least for the moment are left without a backup quarterback. The team traded away third-stringer Jacoby Brissett to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett on Sept. 2.
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This move could have happened for a couple reasons. For one, it is possible that Garoppolo had had enough of being a backup quarterback. He said as much to the media over the summer, and indicated that he wanted to be a starter. It is hard to fault him for that. Every quarterback wants a crack at playing time and let’s face it, it is hard to get some from the get-go, never mind when you’re backing up Tom Brady. After three years on the bench, it is easy to see why he would be restless.
Secondly, the trade deadline is at 4 p.m. ET on Halloween. Garoppolo is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2018. Maybe the thought process on the part of the Patriots was “Let’s get something for Garoppolo while we still can.” Even still, a second-round pick seems like too small of a return at the moment.
With that being said, the Patriots have been known to get the most out of the players they have with the system they have in place. Will Garoppolo succeed with the 49ers, with him being out of the New England system? My early prediction is yes.
New England needs to have a backup plan for a quarterback. If Brady gets hurt, they do not have many viable avenues. They will now have to turn to other paths for quarterback help. If there is one coach that knows how to evaluate talent, it is Bill Belichick.
He has the ability to take relative unknowns and make them productive players in his system. With that in mind, this now puts them in a tough spot. Brady must be ready to play for the foreseeable future. Ideally, he needs to play long enough in order for the draftee to develop and take over the reins once Brady retires.
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For San Francisco, this is a great trade. They get to have an experienced quarterback for the rest of the season, and one that knows what it takes to win. If there is one downside for them, it is the free agent piece, and that Garoppolo can become one at the end of the season. Even still, he is a nice option to stop the bleeding, and gives the 49ers time to do some evaluating of their own. For New England, this could be either a good trade or it could backfire. Only time will tell.