Here’s why the Patriots shouldn’t trade anything for Jimmy Garoppolo

Football fans are desperately waiting for the next domino of the quarterback carousel to fall, and at this stage in the offseason there are several teams who could still trade for or sign a new gunslinger once the new league year gets underway next week.

The New England Patriots obviously fall under this category and the latest buzz suggests they’re exhausting all viable options. However, general manager Bill Belichick might’ve already identified his preferred solution, if you can believe it.

According to Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal, the Patriots have Jimmy Garoppolo as their “Plan A” as far as their list of potential targets is concerned.

A reunion with Garoppolo is no doubt something all Patriots fans can get behind, but we would be remiss if we didn’t implore Belichick and Co. to opt against trading for him. After all, the 49ers are reportedly chewing over whether to release him this offseason.

The Patriots would be out of their minds to trade anything for Jimmy Garoppolo.

If you take anything away from Bedard’s insight, it’s that the Patriots are seriously considering reuniting with Garoppolo, who they famously dealt to San Francisco in exchange for a second-round pick back in 2017.

"“From what I gather from talking to people this week, over the past week, Jimmy Garoppolo still is far and away their Plan A,” Bedard said on his podcast. “That, if they had to draw it up, exactly the optimal situation for the Patriots for this coming season, it’s Jimmy G coming back here. And of course, that’s all dependent on the 49ers doing something.”"

It’s worth noting that Bedard didn’t disclose whether New England was considering trading for Garoppolo or waiting until he was released to pursue him. However, they better choose the latter option, because it’s become abundantly clear no other team is willing to trade for him, especially with most QB situations across the league settled … or soon to be settled via the draft.

Sure, that likely means the Patriots could acquire him for dirt cheap, but why give up assets when they could simply use some of their plentiful cap space to sign him? If the 49ers become stubborn and refuse to release him, that’s their own problem.

It’s not like Garoppolo is miles better than some of New England’s other options (Cam Newton, Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett, etc.). In fact, the only edge he has over those guys is familiarity with the playbook and culture, and Newton isn’t far behind him in that regard.

Not to mention that Garoppolo is incredibly injury prone. The 29-year-old vet appeared in more than six games just once across his four years (!) in San Fran, so there’s no guarantee he would remain healthy even if he returned to the Patriots.

The risks far outweigh the positives with Garoppolo at this point in his career, so there would simply be no sense in the Patriots giving up assets to acquire him.

If Belichick is approaching this QB search as diligently as reports claim, he’ll continue to exercise patience and wait until the 49ers back themselves into a corner and have no other choice but to release the seven-year pro.

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