The New England Patriots' best course of action at quarterback this offseason might be to wait and see whether the San Francisco 49ers cut ties with Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo reportedly is "far and away" New England's "Plan A" at the position, which the Patriots need to address with only Jarrett Stidham and Jake Dolegala currently on the QB depth chart for 2021.
That might require extreme patience, though, and such an approach could hinder New England's plans for free agency and/or the NFL draft. Thus, ESPN's Mike Reiss wondered Sunday whether the Patriots instead should push the envelope and make the 49ers an enticing trade offer for Garoppolo.
Here's more from Reiss:
Niners general manager John Lynch recently told the "Eye Test" podcast, with no hesitation, he believes Garoppolo will be the team's starting quarterback in September if he's healthy. But Garoppolo's health challenges are part of the reason the 49ers have previously considered an upgrade, and that's why some around the NFL are skeptical of their commitment to him.
How committed would they be if the Patriots, taking more of an aggressive approach, floated something like a second-round pick (No. 46) or even cornerback Stephon Gilmore to get ahead of what could be a challenging contract situation?
It's fair to assume the 49ers only will trade Garoppolo if they have an upgrade in place. A failure to find a suitable replacement ultimately could be what keeps Garoppolo in the Bay Area for 2021.
But former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, who spent time working with Bill Belichick in New England, recently floated a hypothetical scenario in which the New York Jets trade quarterback Sam Darnold to the 49ers, thus making Garoppolo expendable.
Let's say the 49ers trade a second-round pick for Darnold, as Lombardi speculates. Perhaps that then could open the door for a Jimmy G reunion in Foxboro, with San Francisco opting to trade the 29-year-old to his former organization rather than releasing him.
Which brings us to the hypothetical Patriots-49ers trade mentioned by Reiss and discussed again on Monday's episode of "Get Up" on ESPN: New England trades its second-round pick (No. 46) and cornerback Stephon Gilmore to San Francisco for Garoppolo.
Here's some additional information from Reiss:
The 49ers, who have about $12 million in cap space, would pick up an additional $18.9 million in the exchange because Darnold would only count $4.7 million on the cap in 2021. They'd also get a solid draft pick from the Patriots.
New England, with more than $66 million in cap space, would get its presumed No. 1 QB choice (inheriting his $24.1 million base salary and $1.4 million in bonuses) and still have about $40.5 million to operate.
Would this sequence of events constitute a win for the Patriots?
Obviously, it depends on what you think of Garoppolo, one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the NFL in terms of skill/potential. But if the Patriots believe he's the guy for them, capable of thriving in Josh McDaniels' system where he spent three-plus seasons as Brady's understudy from 2014 to 2017, then one could argue they should do whatever it takes to bring him back.
The Patriots still are searching for an answer at quarterback one year removed from Tom Brady's departure. And while a reunion with Cam Newton, who struggled for New England in 2020, shouldn't be ruled out, Garoppolo seems like the familiar face worth going after.
