Patriots lucky 49ers rejected their mid-draft Jimmy Garoppolo trade offer

The 2021 NFL Draft was a wild time.

In regard to the New England Patriots, nobody knew whether they would strike a trade for a new quarterback, trade up and draft one, or simply stick with Cam Newton, who they re-signed earlier in the offseason, for another year.

Rumors indicated they would make a move into the top 10 for a Justin Fields. Even Jimmy Garoppolo was floated as a potential trade target after the 49ers unloaded multiple first-round picks to jump up to No. 3 overall.

Of course, the Patriots shocked everyone when they stood pat to draft Alabama standout Mac Jones — who San Francisco used as a smokescreen for their real target, Trey Lance — at No. 15 overall.

It was viewed as a stroke of genius from Bill Belichick, but was it really?

In Seth Wickersham’s new book, “It’s Better to be Feared,” he reported that the Pats called San Francisco on Day 1 of the draft asking about Garoppolo’s trade value. The 49ers entertained the idea, but weren’t appeased by New England’s offer.

This … is kind of a huge deal. If this trade was completed, it would’ve changed the entire complexion of the Patriots future. Would they still have drafted Jones? If not, would they have traded back with another team in the mix for a quarterback? Who was next up on their first round big board behind Jones?

We’ll likely never know the answers. What we do know, however, is that New England got extremely lucky the 49ers rejected them.

Jones impressed from Day 1. He was regularly the first player on the field during rookie camp and mandatory minicamp. He followed that up by showing out during training camp and the preseason, which paved the way for Newton’s release.

Through seven weeks, Jones is statistically the best rookie quarterback, and frankly, it’s not even close. The 23-year-old is completing 70.4% of his passes for 1,779 yards and nine touchdowns to six interceptions. He leads all QBs from the 2021 class in those categories, including wins (three).

Suffice to say, the Patriots have their quarterback of the future.

Garoppolo, meanwhile, has been unstable as the 49ers’ starter. His injury concerns have cropped up yet again, as he missed a game with a calf injury and would’ve missed two if San Fran didn’t have their bye in Week 6.

Garoppolo returned for Week 7 vs the Colts and was terrible, finishing 16-of-27 for 181 yards and one touchdown to two interceptions and a fumble en route to a loss. If Lance, who’s battling a knee injury, was fully healthy, chances are Garoppolo would’ve been benched for the second time this season for Week 8 vs Chicago.

It’s nauseating to think Belichick even considered a reunion with Garoppolo. Sure, he never could’ve guessed that Jones would look THIS good this early into his career, but the longtime de facto GM lucked out big time here.

If another functional franchise got its hands on Jones, this would’ve gone down as one of the worst trades in franchise history. Period.

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