For the better part of the past year, Jimmy Garoppolo’s name has been mentioned in trade rumor after trade rumor after trade rumor. The NFL is chock full of quarterback-needy teams, and with Tom Brady still playing at a Pro Bowl level, Garoppolo is a prime target.
The New England Patriots’ backup QB tries to block out the noise as best he can, eschewing ESPN and avoiding the rampant speculation that often dominates Twitter. But his family doesn’t always follow his lead.
“I try to (avoid trade talk),” Garoppolo said on Adam Schefter’s “Know Them From Adam” podcast. “I can’t say that I do it completely, but I try to. My mom loves telling me the news updates, so she’s all over that stuff, but it’s been working really well.”
That’s right: Garoppolo says he gets more NFL news from his mother than he does from Schefter, Ian Rapoport or any other plugged-in insider.
“I’m telling you, she could be your assistant,” Garoppolo told Schefter. “She’s all over the place. Her and my dad on Twitter and stuff like that — I don’t even think they know how to tweet, but they always have something going on.”
He added: “They know what to hit me with and what to keep quiet. They know me so well that they know what I’d like to hear and what I don’t need to hear. There’s a couple slip-ups here and there, I’m not going to lie to you, but they’re just so excited about it. It’s an exciting time, and they’re loving it.”
The Garoppolo family has to be especially excited about the rumors linking the 25-year-old quarterback to the Chicago Bears. Garoppolo grew up just outside Chicago in Arlington Heights, Ill., and played his college ball a few hours south at Eastern Illinois.
“I get asked about (a potential trade to the Bears) all the time from my friends and family back in Chicago,” Garoppolo said. “… They’re good reporters, my family. But I keep telling them I really don’t know how it would feel until — if it was to happen, I wouldn’t know how I’d feel until it did, you know? So it’s kind of one of those things that’s hard to say right now.
“I know it’s a very cliche answer and not very exciting for you, but I’ve only been in Foxboro, so I don’t know anything different in the NFL yet. So I guess we’ll kind of just see how it goes.”
Garoppolo deflected most questions about his future during his 20-minute conversation with Schefter, noting that because he is under contract with the Patriots, any move would be out of his control.
“Your guess is probably as good as mine,” Garoppolo said. “… When you really start thinking about it, your head will start spinning. You’ve just got to take it all in stride, and whatever happens, it was meant to be.”
Some other highlights from the podcast:
On Julian Edelman comparing Garoppolo to Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers: “I can’t say I was surprised, because it was Jules, and you never know what that guy is going to say. He’s awesome. I love Jules. But it’s tremendous just to be in the same sentence as those two guys. It really is a privilege.”
On Garoppolo’s lasting memory of Super Bowl LI: “When (linebacker Dont’a) Hightower came around the edge and got that sack, it just ignited the sideline. I’ve never seen a sideline like that. And that image — I had a great view of it — and the image I have stuck in my head is something that will last with me forever.”
On fellow Eastern Illinois product Tony Romo: “I’ve texted with Tony a couple times. Throughout the whole draft process was when I first got introduced to him. We keep in touch here and there.”
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
