Jimmy Garoppolo trade update: Patriots “were willing to carry 2 starting QB contracts”

Well, you can’t say that the New England Patriots didn’t try to keep Jimmy Garoppolo. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Patriots were willing to pay both Garoppolo and Tom Brady large contracts fit for starting quarterbacks, but Garoppolo wanted something that the Patriots couldn’t offer.

“As I understand it, the Patriots put potential solutions in front of Garoppolo in the spring and summer to try to extend their window to pass him the torch that Tom Brady has carried for the last 17 seasons,” Breer reports. “It would have cost them a lot, but they were willing to carry two starting quarterback contracts on their books to do it. Garoppolo, however, made it clear he that want to be a starter, not just a guy paid like one.

Garoppolo wanted a place where he could start and maximize his value and the Patriots simply couldn’t offer that to him with Brady playing at such a high level.

I am curious as to what the “potential solutions” were that the Patriots offered to Garoppolo. Maybe a quarter or a half here and there against the bottom feeder teams? Or just a lot of money?

Either way, it wasn’t enough and the 49ers will provide Garoppolo with a starting job, even if the supporting cast is a far cry from what he played with in New England.

Bill Belichick is willing to do whatever is best for his team’s success in both the short and long term and ensuring that the quarterback position is solidified for years to come is a no-brainer. Garoppolo understandably just didn’t want to wait around.