Jimmy Garoppolo posted the highest quarterback rating in the NFL over the last five weeks of the regular season en route to going 5-0, while Tom Brady posted the 12th highest, just barely above Buffalo Bills signal-caller Tyrod Taylor.
With Brady struggling down the stretch, many have begun to wonder whether the New England Patriots should have held on to his protege instead of trading Garoppolo for a second-round draft pick.
While the trade appears to be simple on the surface, ESPN’s Max Kellerman believes the Patriots made a colossal mistake in trading Garoppolo, as he believes Brady is beginning his descent from greatness to rock bottom, ala Peyton Manning.
The ESPN commentator voiced his opinion on the trade Tuesday on “First Take,” and it’s going to get the New England faithful all hot and bothered.
“To take over a miserable, losing franchise that cannot win a game, post the highest QBR in the NFL over five weeks, and they can’t lose a game, you go undefeated,” Kellerman said. “Now what’s happening in New England in the meantime? I told you Tom Brady was going to fall off a cliff. Now when you’re falling from the heights Tom Brady is, you pass through ordinariness before you hit bottom.
“So Tom Brady is passing through ordinariness right now,” Kellerman continued. “Five consecutive weeks he’s been ordinary. I don’t remember a time in Tom Brady’s career where over a five-game stretch he’s been ordinary in every single game. He’s 12th in QBR, but let me tell you who’s ahead of him. Joe Flacco, Blake Bortles, Jameis Winston over the last five weeks. You know who’s right next to him? Tyrod Taylor. Ordinary.”
And then Kellerman went off about the Patriots’ decision to trade Garoppolo.
“He’s not a bum yet, but it’s ordinary,” Kellerman said. “That’s what Brady’s been and he’s 40. And Jimmy Garoppolo is nowhere near his prime yet, and he is undefeated, playing the best football at quarterback in the NFL over the last five — of course, it was a mistake.”
While only time will tell how good Garoppolo will be, some NFL insiders already are predicting a breakout 2018 season for the young QB.
