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During his first three and half seasons with the New England Patriots, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo firmly established himself as the lead backup behind future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. Throughout this process, he was able to learn and pick up different things from Brady that have helped him along his brief NFL career.
Over time, Garoppolo developed a similar competitive drive to Brady. During a recent interview with Joon Lee of Bleacher Report, he talked about how he and the three-time MVP wanted to get the better of each other at all costs.
“The competitiveness between the two of us was very similar. If I’m playing my best friend in one-on-one basketball, if we are both into it, by the end, we are going to hate each other,” Jimmy says. “That’s how it is. All the good competitors have that. We got along, but there were always times where we wanted to kill each other. It was a healthy, competitive relationship.”
The 40-year-old Brady has built a strong reputation for his competitiveness which has pushed him to become the player he is heading into his 19th season in the NFL. Garoppolo learned to take that type of mentality and energy with him to get the most out of himself.
Although there wasn't a true shot for Garoppolo to grab the starting job in New England, he hopes to take those lessons and continue to develop with the San Francisco 49ers. He has a chance to truly establish himself as one of the game's top young quarterbacks ahead of his first full season as the starter.
Ultimately, this just speaks to the competitiveness that both he and Brady possess and why the Patriots were so high on him potentially becoming the eventual longtime starter down the line.
