Jimmy Garoppolo could still be out the way out of New England.
News broke on Wednesday morning that the New England Patriots will not be trading back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this year.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports isn’t buying what the Patriots are selling.
"There have been many reports by several high-profile media members who keep insisting that the Patriots will not trade Garoppolo, even if they get blown away by an offer.I don’t believe it.Can I say it again: I don’t believe it.This, to me, smells of a calculated play by Patriots coach and general manager Bill Belichick. He is trying to drive up the price for Garoppolo. What would be the point to keeping him?There is none."
Prisco makes a valid point, Belichick and the Patriots could certainly be trying to drive up Garoppolo’s price, or they might not really want to trade him.
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But then Prisco made another point that I’ve been pondering myself. The Pats can’t afford to keep Garoppolo next year when he’s a free agent because they’re not going to give him a contract that will pay him starter money and they can’t afford to use the franchise tag on him. So they really can’t afford to hold onto him this year.
"So let’s just say the Patriots don’t trade him. Then they have him for one year as a backup — hopefully one who never plays — and then they do what? Tag him in 2018? That would be a $50 million commitment to two quarterbacks, one a backup? Yeah, sure, that’s happening. If the Patriots didn’t tag Garoppolo, they lose him and hope to just get a compensatory pick, probably a third-rounder."
I would love to know what kind of offers the Patriots have received for Garoppolo. It’s clearly not enough to pull off a trade. I would bet that not one team has offered a first round pick.
The problem for New England is that they drafted Garoppolo in the second round. So if they trade him for anything less than a first rounder, they’re not gaining any value at all. They will break even or lose the value they initially put into to him if he goes for a third rounder or less.
Prisco isn’t buying Belichick’s bluff and he doesn’t think anyone else in the NFL does. It will be interesting to see how things turn out. going forward.