When the New England Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, it signaled that the team thinks that Tom Brady will play at least a few more years. Adam Schefter of ESPN believes that even though that might be the case, he thinks the Patriots have some regrets making the trade.
The Patriots did receive a second round pick back from the 49ers to get the trade deadline although some inside the organization still wish they had Garoppolo. Appearing on the Woj Pod, Schefter said that the Patriots wanted to keep Garoppolo but with the contract situation that he was coming upon the team had no choice but to trade him.
“I’m sure there is some [regret],” Schefter said. “Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be a top quarterback in this league for the next decade or so. You don’t want to let a guy like that go when Tom Brady is at the tail end of his career. In a perfect world you get to hold on to both guys and when Brady decides to walk away, Garoppolo is ready to step in and assume the throne. But, it didn’t work out like that for a variety of reasons — Jimmy’s contract was coming up, Tom is not ready to quit playing just yet, and people say that timing in life is a lot, and in this particular case it was. Because if Tom had decided a year ago that I am done, maybe they would have been able keep Garoppolo, sign him to a long-term extension. If his contract weren’t coming up at that point, maybe they could have held on to him for another year without losing him.”
Schefter also said that inside the organization the plan was to not trade Garoppolo but within a couple of days there was a complete 180 in the organization and they decided to move on from him. How much the Patriots regret the trade depends on how long Brady plays and how much success Garoppolo has with the 49ers.
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