The New England Patriots know better than anyone how good Jimmy Garoppolo is and can be, but they probably wish he waited a few more months before showing the rest of the NFL.
The Patriots shocked just about everyone when they traded the quarterback to the San Francisco 49ers at the trade deadline in November. Many wonder whether the Patriots would have been better off either trading him last offseason or waiting until this offseason to maximize their return. There’s no shortage of theories as to why they made the move when they did.
While the Patriots might not have received the top offer for Garoppolo, they got a pretty serviceable asset in return — or so they thought. To acquire Garoppolo, San Fran sent its 2018 second-round draft pick to New England.
At the time, only the Cleveland Browns were worse than the Niners, and that second-round pick sat at No. 34 overall. San Francisco waited a few weeks before inserting Garoppolo into the starting lineup, and through Week 11, the 49ers looked destined for that second slot in the second round.
And then Jimmy G. took over.
Garoppolo made his first start in Week 12, and he never looked back. The Niners went 5-0 with him at the helm. When he took over, the 49ers were 1-10; they finished the season at 6-10. So instead of that No. 34 pick, the Patriots now will have to wait for the results of a coin flip at the NFL scouting combine to see whether they’ll pick 41st or 42nd overall.
It’s just more ammunition for the section of the fanbase that wanted to see the Patriots find a way to keep Garoppolo as the quarterback of the future. But with New England enjoying yet another playoff bye week before beginning their pursuit of a sixth Super Bowl title with Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback of all time.
Oh, and for what it’s worth: New England selected Garoppolo with the 62nd pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
