The San Francisco 49ers managed to acquire their franchise quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo amidst a disastrous 2017 NFL season. Needless to say, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's willingness to give up Garoppolo for a second-round pick even took head coach Kyle Shanahan by surprise considering the conversation they had just eight months prior.
Shanahan was among those at last year's scouting combine after becoming head coach of the Niners. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, it was there that he asked Belichick what it would cost to take Garoppolo off his hands to no avail:
“I remember asking Bill personally down at the Combine about Jimmy, and very quickly he told me that wasn’t a possibility. So we moved on from that. He told me he wasn’t going to trade him,” Shanahan said.
The New England Patriots have had to deal with their fair share of scandalous headlines this season. However, they all seemed to stem from the Patriots' quarterback conundrum after reports suggested that Tom Brady wanted his protege gone with the hope of more job security in the future.
That said, Shanahan's comments have further fanned the flames of truth surrounding the claims. Given Belichick's eye for talent, it is clear he was prepping the Garoppolo to one day be Brady's successor. To suddenly give him up within the same year of making those comments to Shanahan indicates that there may have been some truth to the initial reports.
Regardless, it just goes to show that anything can happen throughout the duration of an NFL season.
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