With the impressive showing of Jimmy Garoppolo during the time he started for the New England Patriots before he was injured in the middle of the Miami game, and Tom Brady continuing to age, the Pats have been put into a very interesting situation.
Brady is back from suspension, and he looks better than ever. He shows no signs of slowing down, in fact it seems like he is speeding up. Unfortunately, he cannot play forever, and the Patriots have to figure out who they want under center after Brady hangs up his cleats.
A big factor in this is how much longer Brady will play. It is difficult to predict because Brady wants to play as long as possible. I believe that Brady will play until his body gives up on him, and there is no timetable for when that might happen. It could be a long time, or it could be sooner than Patriots fans like me are hoping for, we just don't know.
What we do know is that the Patriots need to make a decision about Jimmy Garoppolo. There are a few options here.
One option is to trade him before next year's draft. Jimmy has one year remaining on his contract after this year, and the time before the draft is the time where many desperate teams search to land quarterbacks.
Jimmy's stock is through the ceiling at the moment, which means the Pats would at least get a first round pick out of him.
However, the Patriots have to ask themselves this question. Is the return for Jimmy G more valuable than a franchise quarterback? The hardest thing in the NFL in terms of team building is finding a long term QB. The Patriots have this in Jimmy G; he has spent so much time in the system, he fits, he's good at it. The Patriots have Jacoby Brissett, but the Patriots don't seem invested in him. That can change, but for the time being it's Brady and Jimmy.
If the Pats trade Jimmy and put their faith in Jacoby and he ends up being a flop, then they screwed themselves at the QB position, and who knows how long it would take to recover from that.
Another option is to keep him until Brady retires. Brady's contract is good through 2019. If the Patriots can convince Brady to retire after his contract is up, Jimmy could rise up and take the legend's place. Jimmy's contract is up after 2018, and if we don't pay him or play him we are going to lose him in free agency. There will be teams throwing money at his face trying to pry him from our grasp. The best option would be to franchise tag Jimmy to make sure he stays here. The only problem with that is that franchise tag will likely be worth 20 million plus dollars. For a guy that's only played two regular season games, that's a hefty price, even if he has looked really good.
Now, Brady may not be ready to retire after his contract ends in 2019, and if that's the case and the Pats still have Jimmy at that point, the Pats have to decide who they move forward with. Wring out the last few years of the greatest QB of all-time, Brady, or let the young stud shine. If it were me, it kills me to say this, but I would let Brady go. I hate saying it, but it's reality. Brady can't keep doing this, and there is life after the Brady era. Sad as it may be, it is the truth.
There are teams who would want a veteran Brady for one or two years to try and make a run at a Super Bowl, which sparks an idea.
Now who knows how likely this is, but if Brady lets the Pats know he won't be retiring after his contract is up, maybe they would consider trading him. I know, trading the greatest QB who ever lived? Hear me out, don't kill me Pats fans. Do the Patriots really want to lose the GOAT and get nothing in return? They could get a great deal for Brady, and that way they wouldn't be giving him up for nothing. If they were to do this it would most likely be after the 2018 season, and if they want Brady for a little extra longer they can restructure his deal to make it so that when Garoppolo takes over that Brady would be traded with one year left on his deal. It's just a thought, and it's one that I would not be against.
The final verdict is that, well, the Pats have a lot of options. They are in a great position, even if it's a tough one. I would much rather have this many options than have no options. These next few years are going to be interesting, to say the least. Hopefully, we can get a few more rings on Brady's fingers before his time here is done.
