Post by Admin on Oct 30, 2017 22:03:26 GMT -5
Why did the New England Patriots deal the QB, and why now?
By Kevin Duffy
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
FOXBOROUGH -- When writing about the potential drama of the NFL trade deadline, I always include a fair warning.
Nothing really ever happens. There's a lot of buzz and many media-generated rumors, but hardly ever any meaningful action.
And then.....yeah....
The New England Patriots have traded talented backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. They'll receive a 2018 second-round pick in return.
Needless to say, stunning move -- the timing, the return, all of it.
Garoppolo trade: 'No one saw this coming,' but QB knew 49ers wanted him < LINK
Initial thoughts...
**What the hell?
It was reported this past spring that the Patriots had turned down multiple first-round picks for Garoppolo. If that's true, the return they received five months later is shocking. They got the same for Matt Cassel eight years ago.
**Guess the Patriots saw enough from Tom Brady at age 40 to realize he'd be their guy for the next 3-4 seasons, which would have made Garoppolo expendable. The question is, hadn't the Patriots seen enough from Brady at age 39 to know that? Presumably, they would have gotten a better return if this trade had occurred this past spring.
**Are the Patriots done yet? The NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday, and the move seems to indicate that the Pats are in win-now mode. Now that they have additional draft compensation, is it possible that they use the second-round pick (or their own first-round pick) as a trade chip to acquire a big-time defensive player?
They've got 24 hours to make an additional move.
**What a vote of confidence for Tom Brady. I realize that sounds dumb because Brady is inarguably the greatest to ever play the position, but he is 40 years old and he has taken a beating through the first half of this season. Brady is still excellent, but he has some problems when the protection doesn't hold up.
The upside with Garoppolo was always this: Because of his athleticism, he is capable of doing what Brady cannot. Garoppolo does not necessarily require great protection to make a play.
This doesn't mean he'll be a superstar. He only has six quarters of real NFL game film, although they were six mighty impressive quarters.
**Looks like it'll be Brady and Bill Belichick until the end in New England. At one point, this seemed unlikely. It wasn't too long ago that Belichick drafted Garoppolo and noted Brady's "age and contract situation."
Since that day in the spring of 2014, Garoppolo has shown plenty of promise. Brady has won two Super Bowls. Maybe it wasn't such a difficult decision after all.
Plenty more to come...
blog.masslive.com/patriots/2017/10/jimmy_garoppolo_trade_analysis.html#incart_river_index