Everybody makes mistakes.
The San Francisco 49ers made the mistake of bringing in Jimmy Garoppolo and not being 100% committed to him.
The New England Patriots made the mistake of thinking Tom Brady would be around forever so they traded away the future of the franchise.
The Patriots had three options for Jimmy Garoppolo:
1. Keep him in 2018, paying him a lot more than Tom Brady
2. Trade him for a 2018 high second-round pick
3. Let him leave for a 2019 late third-round compensatory pick
I'm not getting what was so dumb about Option 2.— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) January 18, 2018
The Patriots had an option four where they trade Tom Brady instead.
As we saw during the 2020 offseason, the 49ers had an interest in Tom Brady after already acquiring Jimmy G.
This showed the 49ers were not committed to Jimmy G even though he helped get the team to a Super Bowl.
Looking back, both teams could have made better decisions.
That is all in the past now.
The year is 2021, and it is time to make things right.
The 49ers need to trade Jimmy Garoppolo and the Patriots are the perfect suitors.
Why it Works for the 49ers
The players might enjoy having Jimmy Garoppolo as their QB, but the issue resides with the front office and coaching staff.
Kendrick Bourne gives his support for QB Jimmy Garoppolo on his Twitch stream today 👀 #49ers | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/yEaQ0UFurw
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) February 19, 2021
Right now, Garoppolo is soaking up $26.4M in cap space and the 49ers cannot afford that.
The 49ers don’t have a cap problem with a projected $20M in cap space for the 2021 season.
They do have a depth problem and we saw that front and center during the 2020 season.
After over $65M of players’ contracts ended up on IR throughout the year, their season crumbled.
One of those players was Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers need to get rid of his contract, use that money on depth, and making sure more important pieces get extensions.
LT Trent Williams, EDGE Solomon Thomas, and FB Kyle Juszczyk are all free agents this season and should return to the team.
We have seen how far the 49ers can get with Jimmy Garoppolo.
They made it to the Super Bowl on the back of their defense and running game.
When Jimmy was asked to make a big throw in the Super Bowl, he missed.
If he would have hit WR Emmanual Sanders, who had 3 yards of separation from the Chief’s DBs, the 49ers would have won.
I am not saying you can draft a QB and it would be the missing piece to get you a title.
I am saying the Garoppolo situation is becoming toxic, and we saw how toxic relationships end with Philidelphia.
The 49ers exit interview with Jimmy Garoppolo. pic.twitter.com/jbZ8J99sPn
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) February 21, 2021
Why it Works for the Patriots
The Patriots were a disaster in 2020, but they can set themselves up for a rebound season in 2021.
They have a projected $68M in cap space, a top 15 draft pick, and 10 total picks.
Their major issue has been drafting impactful players.
It doesn’t matter if you have 10 picks when those players will be cut in 2-3 years.
The Patriots should not let their draft room figure out who is a good college QB, because they will likely get it wrong.
Go out and get a guaranteed starter and trade for Jimmy Garoppolo.
It’s not like bringing in Cam Newton where the offense needs to change to fit his style.
Jimmy walks through the door, and you have a guy who has 3 years of experience in Bill Belichick’s offense and was an understudy to Tom Brady.
The Patriots have the cap space and draft picks to trade for him, and a hole to fill in the roster that he fits perfectly.
Jimmy was supposed to be the future of New England.
According to @AlbertBreer, the Patriots made this March 2017 trade to build around Jimmy Garoppolo, not Tom Brady 🤔https://t.co/cvxq1GASOO
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) February 15, 2021
Let’s get the Patriots back on track.
The Trade
The initial trade sent Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a 2nd round draft pick.
I don’t see it costing the Patriots too much more to get him back.
Prediction time:
San Francisco will trade for Sam Darnold.
They will then trade Jimmy Garoppolo to the Patriots for a 3rd.
— Savage (@BOSTONSPORTSB) February 19, 2021
Whether it’s Sam Darnold, Deshaun Watson, or Mitchell Trubisky, they will look to get that in return for Jimmy G.
It won’t happen if they happen to land Watson, but Darnold and Trubisky have the same value as Garoppolo these days.
Jimmy G saw a Super Bowl, but he was not the leader of that team and he limped through 2020.
His trade value plummeted, so a 3rd round draft pick would be fair, but if the Patriots need to give up a 2nd round pick, they can afford it.
The 49ers get to move on from a decision they regret.
The Patriots get the face of their franchise back.
Everybody wins.
