Perhaps we’ve gotten so excited about the San Francisco 49ers new franchise QB Jimmy Garoppolo, that we seem to have forgotten how easily they got him from the team that never makes foolish trades—the New England Patriots.
I mean why did New England trade him in October after flatly turning down multiple trade overtures during the spring—most of which were far better.
Well, one Patriots beat writer seems to have a hypothesis:
“The Patriots clearly traded Garoppolo out of loyalty to Tom Brady,” says Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. “Belichick wanted to keep Garoppolo for the future, but Brady is serious when he says he wants to play until he’s 45, and [team owner Robert] Kraft made it clear to Belichick that Brady isn’t going anywhere this offseason.”
He furthers his point by saying that New England “botched this trade in every which way,” getting a second-round pick from San Fran for Garoppolo. At the time of the deal the 49ers had not won a single game, and were likely to boast one of the first two picks in that round.
But—just like we suspect Belichick knew—Garoppolo took over as starter and the team won their final five, turning that number two pick in the second round (34th overall) to the ninth (41st overall).
The Volin verdict?
“The only plausible explanation for this sudden about-face is that Belichick was told that he’s not moving on from Brady after this season.”
Makes sense to me and knowing how stubborn Belichick is, maybe he’ll be moving on sooner than we expect as well.
Source: Sportsnaut