Boo Birds? What Jimmy Garoppolo Expects From Patriots Return

The New England Patriots will welcome back former quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday, seven years after the 33-year-old was traded away from Foxboro.

Garoppolo underwent a solid six-year stretch with the San Francisco 49ers, leading the franchise to a Super Bowl LIV appearance and most recently spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, logging six starts in seven appearances. Now, as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, with whom Garoppolo signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract, the 10-year veteran returns to Gillette Stadium.

“It will be cool seeing the whole crowd and everything, cool seeing the stadium be packed out,” Garoppolo said, per Gary Klein of the LA Times. “There’s a lot of good people there.”

Garoppolo likely won’t take the field, with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford healthy through each of Los Angeles’ first nine games. Still, that shouldn’t take away from the sentimental side of Garoppolo’s visit to the place he once called home — for three years. Garoppolo left the franchise a two-time Super Bowl champion, without any bad blood as New England’s starting role remained reserved for the legendary Tom Brady.

That meant leaving the Patriots would be the best possible choice for the interests of Garoppolo’s career as an NFL quarterback. Both sides understood that at the time, so Garoppolo doesn’t harbor any hard feelings for New England’s faithful.

“I love the fans — I loved how passionate they were,” Garoppolo said, per Klein. “They were very straightforward, which was one thing I really appreciated about them. You did bad, and they were going to let you know you did bad. And when you did good, they would let you know. But that’s what makes a good sports town, I think.”

Garoppolo added: “So we’ll see, hopefully it’s all good and everything, but they booed Tom Brady when he came back, so you never know.”

Brady returned to Gillette Stadium in 2021 as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, fresh off carrying their organization to a Super Bowl victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. At the time, Brady remained on the hunt for contention while the Patriots were on the still-ongoing downfall of their rebuild, giving fans plenty of reason to feel sour about the breakup.

Perhaps welcoming back a post-prime backup Garoppolo of the 4-5 Rams will prompt a warmer reception from 68,000 Patriots fans in attendance Sunday.