Ean Greenberg

 

In a shocking turn of events, the New England Patriots have traded backup quarterback (and heir to the Patriots’ monarchy) Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2018 second round draft pick. This trade should come as a surprise to many, as there doesn’t seem to be much of a purpose as to why the Patriots would go through with this. Maybe in the offseason this trade would make sense because the Patriots could use it to fill a need, yet at the moment this trade doesn’t make the Patriots any better than they were hours before the trade. All the trade does is leave the Patriots with only one active quarterback on their roster, Tom Brady. While Belichick’s unusual transactions usually work in the end, it doesn’t mean that this trade doesn’t contain some alarm bells; it just doesn’t make sense as to why they would do it. Like most football fans I am confused by the trade, but here is what I took away from it:

 

 

  • We are going to see a lot more of Tom Brady- Not many quarterbacks play until they are 40. Not many quarterbacks play their best football at 40. No quarterback is like Tom Brady. If this trade tell us anything, it is that Brady will be playing for years to come. Clearly the Patriots believe that he can play well into their 40s, meaning that Garoppolo will have no use in Foxborough. While Patriots fans might salivate over the thought of 10 more years of Brady, NFL fans around the country fear it. As a nation, we are just waiting for the day when Brady calls it quits. Sadly, this day doesn’t seem to be anytime soon
  • The 49ers do not like this year’s QB draft class- Before the season, fans around the league spoke very highly of this year’s crop of quarterbacks coming out of college. With names like Sam Darnold, Mason Rudolph, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen floating around, it seemed like this was the year in which teams would select their quarterback for the future. Obviously, the 49ers disagree. They would rather take on Garoppolo’s small sample size of excellence, and soon to be expensive contract, rather than take on one of the rookie quarterbacks. It is surprising, but Kyle Shanahan is the perfect man to help direct Garoppolo’s career.
  • Belichick loves his second round picks- To most coaches, the return of a second round pick for a potential franchise quarterback wouldn’t be worthwhile, but this is Bill Belichick we are talking about. The man doesn’t do first round picks, he thrives on finding the “no-name” players. With the second round pick he acquired, Belichick will most likely take the player who will end up being the best in the draft (because when does Belichick ever mess up). This pick might not seem like much, but watch out because this is where Belichick makes a living.