Here’s Reportedly Why Patriots Didn’t Trade Jimmy Garoppolo To Browns

The New England Patriots reportedly have moved on from backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but the move came a little later than most originally expected.

The Patriots stunned the sports world Monday night when they agreed to trade Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick.

The move came as a surprise for a number of reasons. For starters, New England currently has just one quarterback on its depth chart following the trades of Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett. Even more so, the return for Jimmy G seemed to be rather underwhelming, especially considering reported offers the Pats received over the offseason.

The Cleveland Browns reportedly had strong interest in Garoppolo and allegedly were willing to part with a first-round pick in this year’s draft in order to obtain the fourth-year QB. But as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported shortly after the Garoppolo trade, the Browns’ offer wasn’t as hefty as it was believed to be.

The trade return isn’t a massive haul by any means, but the pick should be fairly early in the second round considering the 49ers currently sit at 0-8. New England is notorious for surprise trades, and Monday’s dealing of Garoppolo is one of the most shocking in recent memory.

Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images