New England Patriots rumors: Jimmy Garoppolo simply isn’t the answer

Since the San Francisco 49ers traded for the 3rd overall pick, the writing has been on the wall for Jimmy Garoppolo to make his return to the New England Patriots.

For several reasons, he isn’t the answer.

Let’s start with the contract.

Back in February of 2018, Jimmy signed the largest QB contract to date – 5 years, $137.5 million, $74 of which was fully guaranteed. If New England trades for Jimmy without restructuring, or having the 49er’s take on some of the salary, they will owe him over $25 million next season. To make this possible, they would have to shred $10 million in cap.

Next, health. Even when he was on the Patriots, and needed to start due to Brady’s suspension, he made it through 1 game before getting knocked out. Then in 2018, as a member of the 49ers, he tore his ACL in Week 3 and missed the rest of the season. And just last year, Jimmy missed 10 games.

When he’s healthy, what can he do? Well, the 49ers made the Super Bowl. He played great in the regular season, passing for almost 4,000 yards. But when it came down to winning time, he played 2nd fiddle.

In the Divisional round, his 19 attempts totaled for 131 yards. In the Conference Finals, Jimmy threw the football 8 times, 8 TIMES, for 77 yards. Then, in the Super Bowl, he threw the ball  31 times. But when it came down to it in the 4th quarter, he was miserable.

How bad was that really, though?

The New England Patriots need to draft their future QB in the draft, not trade for it

I understand where fans are coming from when they say they want Jimmy back. Knows the system, step-up from Cam (which may not be true when Newton is given a full off-season), etc. To me, it makes no sense.

We’ve already seen the best from Jimmy. A good regular season QB who can’t stay on the field. On top of that, he’s not a spring chicken, as he turns 30 later this year. Drafting a QB in the first round later tonight should be Plan A, B, and C for Coach Bill Belichick. And according to many draft experts, that’s exactly what they’ll do.

For most of Patriots nation, we’re just waiting for Justin Fields to be on our roster at the end of the night. Many consider him the 2nd best QB in the draft, myself included. Fields falling to NE, granted we would most likely need to trade up to 7 or 8, would be the best possible outcome.

As of right now, NE is the betting favorite to land Fields.

I’d be perfectly fine with Lance or Jones if that’s how the cookie crumbles. Jones is NFL ready, and has a higher floor than most of the QB’s in this draft. Lance is a physical specimen, and may have the highest ceiling of any of the options.

So, with all that being said – Bill, give me Fields.

Folks, let’s hope for the best tonight, and enjoy the draft.