Why did the Patriots trade Jimmy Garoppolo for just a second round pick? It’s a question nobody can quite figure out.
Weeks before the trade, the Cleveland Browns reportedly agreed to send two second round picks to the Cincinnati Bengals for back-up quarterback A.J. McCarron. Is one second rounder really all the Patriots could get for Jimmy G? If they’d asked for two seconds or even a first (which would appear to at the very least be his market value) would John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan really have said no?
No one really knows for sure why the typically stingy Patriots allowed themselves to be fleeced by the 49ers, but longtime beat writer Matt Maiocco presented an interesting theory when he joined Murph & Frandsen on Thursday morning.
“I think, and I don’t want to start rumors, but maybe Bill Belichick has a heart,” Maiocco said. “Maybe Bill Belichick liked everything about Garoppolo. Liked the way he worked, liked the way he stood out of the way and gave Tom Brady his space when he needed to. Liked everything about him, and wanted to make sure that he ended up in a situation where Garoppolo’s skills could be developed. It’s pretty clear that Bill Belichick thinks that Kyle Shanahan is a very good offensive coach. I think it’s clear that he’s known John Lynch for some period of time and believes that he is a fine and upstanding man, and will do right by Jimmy Garoppolo.
“That’s why they just didn’t throw open the doors and say ‘okay, Cleveland Browns. Okay, Houston Texans. Okay, any number of teams. The bidding is open, who wants him?’ They didn’t do that. They basically hand delivered Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers and gave them such a sweetheart offer, it only required five or ten minutes for the 49ers to make sure everyone was on the same page and they went ahead and did this thing.
“I think from every level of an organization, starting with the New England Patriots and now with the 49ers, Garoppolo has done the right thing.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Maiocco’s comments on Jimmy G, skip to 1:40.