Jimmy Garoppolo, once the New England Patriots’ backup quarterback, is now a San Francisco 49er, much to the chagrin of most (all?) Patriots fans. On Monday, October 30th, a trade went through that sent Garoppolo to the 49ers for a 2018 second-round draft pick.
The immediate thought of many, I’m sure, was only a second-round draft pick? Yes, Jimmy G has only played a couple games as starter for the Patriots, but of course everyone who is brought up in the Patriots' system is of a high caliber. And now the Patriots do not have a backup quarterback, a risky move even with superhuman Tom Brady on the roster. You would think that Bill Belichick would’ve wanted something more for Jimmy G, but instead we are left guessing (as always) at what that man was thinking.
Our next thought? Well, that life just isn’t fair. Sure, we have Tom Brady, but we were supposed to keep Jimmy Garoppolo to have as our next starter. Because, of course, the Patriots simply cannot become a mediocre team. Garoppolo gave us the best chance for a smooth transition (not that any of us expect that transition to happen soon). Now Garoppolo is gone, we are solely relying on Tom Brady, and we must start looking for another suitable backup. Granted, the next backup, if we are to get them for the long term, would have plenty of years to learn the Patriots system.
But we also must think about the fairness from Jimmy Garoppolo’s side, don’t we? He has been a backup quarterback for the Patriots since he was drafted in 2014. For three years, he has practiced, learned, and intermittently played under Tom Brady. At 37, Brady was one of the older players in the NFL. Garoppolo, 22 at the time he was drafted, probably (and reasonably) figured that he may have the starting role in the next few years. But of course, Tom Brady eats avocado ice cream and only drinks electrolyte-infused water. Who knows how long Brady will play for- I’m sure Jimmy Garoppolo started to realize just how legitimate Tom Brady’s “I’m playing until my mid-40s” claim was and figured he better get out if he wanted a chance to start while still in his 20s.
Don't fret though, ESPN has a silver lining for us: “Shocking trade ensures Tom Brady will finish career with Patriots”. Wow, what a relief, because we believed that he would ever play somewhere else?! Sorry, but I think that is the least shocking piece to this trade.
The one good thing from this trade is that Bill Belichick is behind it. Despite his monotonal and unrevealing answers to any question you may ask him, there is no doubt in a New England fan’s mind that he knows what he is doing. After a trade like this, we may be a bit confounded, but in the end we will once again realize just how masterful a mind Belichick has. We can’t hope to understand the full range of thoughts he possesses; we can just continue to reap the rewards of those thoughts.
