This story just won’t die, but it should.
Shortly after news of the Patriots releasing Cam Newton first broke, many began speculating about a potential return to New England for Jimmy Garoppolo. Of course, the Patriots, who drafted Garoppolo in 2014 before trading him three years later, reportedly explored a trade for the 49ers quarterback before taking Mac Jones in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Now, a future Garoppolo-Patriots reunion can’t be entirely ruled out. Anything — injuries, poor performance, late-career backup work, can happen. However, currently, there is no way Garoppolo is landing in New England.
And there are multiple reasons why. First: He probably is going to start for San Francisco in Week 1.
The 49ers haven’t officially announced whether Garoppolo or rookie Trey Lance will start the opener, but all signs point toward Garoppolo getting the first crack at leading San Francisco’s offense.
Just watch this video of Garoppolo and head coach Kyle Shanahan from last week:
Yeah, he’s going to be the starter. And he should be, as Lance, who clearly has a ton of talent, still isn’t ready. He just turned 21 years old and barely has played any football over the last two years.
Reason No. 2: Mac Jones is the starter in New England.
The Patriots’ release of Newton sends a clear message that the future is now, and needs no further delaying. Whether Bill Belichick made the right call will be determined at a later date, but the reality is it would make zero sense to cut Newton and anoint Jones, only to bring in Garoppolo as the starter. The Patriots are too far along in their preseason preparation, and benching Jones could seriously screw up his confidence.
Reason No. 3: Garoppolo backing up Jones serves no one.
This isn’t fantasy football — these players are human beings. Garoppolo remains a starting-caliber quarterback, one who surely would have zero interest in backing up a rookie on the team that traded him away. Plus, having a player like Garoppolo breathing down Jones’s neck wouldn’t send a great message to the rookie, who needs to just take the job and run with it.
Obviously, Garoppolo would provide high-quality insurance, but he and Jones both deserve better than that.
Final reason: Jones might be better.
Garoppolo probably has the edge right now, but not by much.
Jones looks more advanced than any rookie Patriots quarterback in the Belichick era ever has. He has the talent, particularly the accuracy, to be a far better quarterback than Garoppolo, and his high football IQ suggests a potentially accelerated development.
Some Patriots coaches apparently believe Jones eventually could be a Pro Bowler, an honor Garoppolo never has achieved.
Again, things can change, and Jones still has a lot to prove. But, for now and for the foreseeable future, the Garoppolo-Patriots story should be ignored.
