Any available or potentially available quarterback this offseason is going to be linked to the San Francisco 49ers in some way. Colin Kaepernick was actually decent down the stretch in 2016, but his contract is a mess from both sides and him remaining with the team is not a guarantee. One of the hot names potentially on the market is New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
There have already been various Garoppolo rumors thus far. He is under contract with the Patriots, and any team that wants him will have to fork up either players or draft picks to acquire his services. Reports have suggested multiple first-round picks to no first-round picks at all when discussing potential deals.
The most recent report comes from John Clayton of ESPN, who joined KNBR 1050 on Friday. Clayton suggested that the Patriots may bend on their demands in order to add multiple young players. Clayton suggested that a deal could work similar to when the 49ers traded Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2013.
“I think they will be involved in Jimmy Garoppolo, but I think there’s going to be a really good battle on that one,” Clayton said. “Because I think when you look at the Garoppolo trade, it’s going to be very similar to the Alex Smith trade of a couple years ago. Where naturally, if you’re the Patriots, you’re going to hold out for a No. 1, but you are not going to hold out totally. So knowing there’s maybe not a top five quarterback in this draft, that’s why I think the second round options might be a little more viable. Because then maybe you can give a (second round pick), (a third round pick) in 2018 and I think the Patriots will take that because they are trying to restock the roster as far as getting young guys for the next Super Bowl run.”
If you don’t recall — that deal included a second-round pick and a conditional draft pick depending on how much Smith played and how well he performed. Such a deal for Garoppolo would be very interesting and fair, as far as I’m concerned.
Clayton also talked about the press conference with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch from Thursday, so if you’re interested in that click through the link above.
We’re going to focus on Garoppolo, though. He’s an interesting player, and one I liked coming out of college. But a quarterback performing to an average-to-above average level in Bill Belichick’s system isn’t any kind of indicator that said quarterback will find success elsewhere. Garopplo didn’t play long thanks to an injury that forced the Patriots to roll with Jacoby Brissett.
What do you guys think? A second plus something could turn into another second is certainly more palatable than a first-round pick of any kind as far as I’m concerned.