ESPN’s Adam Schefter beat the “Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t being traded” drum harder than anyone in the NFL media this offseason. And ultimately, he was correct.
The New England Patriots did not move their backup quarterback before the 2017 NFL Draft, and it’s extremely unlikely they’ll do so at some point this summer. Garoppolo is entering the final year of his rookie contract, however, meaning the Patriots will have some decisions to make come next spring.
But just as he believed Garoppolo wouldn’t be dealt this offseason, Schefter doesn’t see the 25-year-old QB playing anywhere else in 2018.
“I don’t think that the Patriots ever considered trading him, and I know when the reports came out that they weren’t dealing him, there were people who were instantly skeptical,” Schefter said Thursday on Bleacher Report’s “Stick to Football” podcast. “‘Oh, this is just trying to raise the price for the Patriots. Nobody is offering –‘ No, they were never trading Jimmy Garoppolo. Period. That was the case in February, and in March, and in April. It didn’t stop teams from calling to inquire, but there wasn’t a team out there that was going to be able to put together an offer that would have changed the Patriots’ thinking with trading Jimmy Garoppolo.
“Now, again, going forward, how is that going to operate and how is that going to work — will the Patriots risk losing Jimmy Garoppolo? My own sense is no. They are going to figure out a way one way or another to keep him there — whether that means signing him to an extension, or franchising him, or making it work. We’ll see how that plays out. I don’t think they are going to lose him. I don’t think they want to lose him. I think they recognize how good they think he is — many of us don’t know that right now because we haven’t seen him play on a consistent basis. They have. They’ve watched him practice. They’ve seen him in practice. They know what he is and isn’t capable of. They are big believers in him.”
Of course, Garoppolo’s future will be largely dependent on Tom Brady’s health and level of production. The Patriots’ longtime starting quarterback will be 40 when the 2017 season begins, and few players at his position in NFL history have been successful beyond that age.
“He’s 40 years old,” Schefter said. “He’s going to be 40 years old this year, and he is the greatest quarterback of all time. None of that is in dispute, and he may play for five or six more years. He may do that, but the chances are he’s not going to because nobody has ever done that before. I’m not going to challenge the great Tom Brady in any way. I would never challenge that guy ever, but Father Time usually wins that battle. If he can beat Father Time, he’s ever more incredible than we think he is. We’ll see.
“Again, I think the Patriots recognize they have what they believe is a commodity and a successor in the wings (in Garoppolo), and they have developed him, put a lot of time in him. They don’t want to lose him. I don’t know how they work it out, but somehow, some way, something tells me they will find a way to get it done.”
Thumbnail photo via Scott R. Galvin/USA TODAY Sports Images
