New England Patriots

After shuffle in NFL draft, could Garoppolo be headed back to New England?

Published Mar. 28, 2021 10:41 a.m. ET

A couple of trades shook up the NFL world on Friday. Now, the aftershocks are continuing to ripple through the league.

And one of the teams reacting to Friday’s movement is none other than Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots.

For context, let’s first look at what happened on Friday.

The chaos started when news broke that the San Francisco 49ers would trade the No. 12 overall pick in the NFL Draft – plus several other picks – to the Miami Dolphins for the No. 3 pick.

Shortly after that, the Dolphins turned around and sent the No. 12 selection to Philadelphia for the No. 6.

Reaction to the deals and their potential impact around the league dominated the chatter for the rest of the day. FOX Sports NFL Analyst Geoff Schwartz summed it all up nicely, writing that all of the teams involved in the trades satisfied their needs, but that one player did not come out ahead at all.

That player is San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who presumably will be the odd man out once his team selects a new quarterback, as expected, with the No. 3 pick.

This is where the Patriots come into the mix.

New England has been extremely active this offseason, as Bill Belichick has sought to get back on top after watching Tom Brady lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the championship.

They added several new players to their bulked-up roster and brought back quarterback Cam Newton on a one-year deal.

And now, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the Patriots might be interested in bringing Garoppolo back to New England, too.

Unless you’ve been off on a deep-space expedition for the last several years, you’re probably aware that the Patriots have a history with Garoppolo. They drafted him in the second round in 2014, and he compiled a solid 106.2 passer rating in limited action before being traded to San Francisco in 2017.

Belichick knows him and seems to have a certain level of affection for him. And the Patriots have expressed interest in bringing him back, even after deciding to take another shot with Newton on a one-year deal.

And while the 49ers have been adamant in saying they have no intention of trading Garoppolo, nobody really seems to believe them.

As Howe writes: "… the Patriots have shown interest in acquiring Garoppolo, and other teams believe the 2014 second-rounder is available or at least will become available once the Niners stop bluffing."

There is, of course, the possibility that the Patriots look elsewhere to add a quarterback, such as through the draft. That could be problematic, though.

The most obvious way to do that would be to acquire the No. 4 pick from the Atlanta Falcons. They’ve scouted all of the top QBs available, and even if Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson go 1-2 to the Jaguars and Jets as many expect, Alabama’s Mac Jones and either Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance (whoever the 49ers don’t pick) would still be available.

The issue, though, is cost. After the 49ers gave up three first-rounders and a third-rounder to leap from No. 12 to No. 3, the market is set. What would it cost the Patriots to move up from No. 15 to No. 4, especially considering that they could also be bidding against the Lions (No. 7), Panthers (No. 8) and Broncos (No. 9)?

It could get pretty pricey, pretty quickly.

This brings us back to Garoppolo.

He’s had a hard time staying on the field with the 49ers, playing a complete season only in 2019, when he led San Francisco to the Super Bowl.

Even then, as Geoff Schwartz outlined, there were some plays Garoppolo made – or failed to make – in the loss to Kansas City that did not earn much confidence from Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers coaching staff.

After several rumors that the 49ers were not happy with their quarterback, a report leaked that Garoppolo would welcome a trade and that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to make that happen.

Combine Garoppolo’s unhappiness with Belichick’s apparent regard for him, and you might have something there.

In reflecting on the deal that sent Garoppolo to the Bay, Belichick once said: "(I'm) happy he has the opportunity to play for a great coach and a great organization and play on a great team. I think he deserves that. He certainly worked hard and earned it, and (I’m) happy for him and his family."

So what happens? Do the Patriots swing a trade for Jimmy G? Do they mortgage the farm to move up to No. 4? Or do they simply roll with Newton and see what happens?

The last option doesn’t seem to fit the mood of the newly aggressive Belichick, but you never know. There are many options on the table and still more than a month to go before the draft begins on April 29.

And it’s going to be a fun ride to get there.