This year's NFL trade deadline was quite busy and the New England Patriots made one of the biggest moves when they shipped backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second round draft pick. The move materialized rather spontaneously but both teams talked about a Garoppolo trade earlier in the offseason. New England's answer back then was a resounding “no”, however.
According to FOX Sports' Jay Glazer, Patriots head coach and de-facto general manager Bill Belichick told his San Francisco counterpart John Lynch – a former safety who was with the Patriots during the 2008 offseason – that Garoppolo was “off limits”. So what did Lynch do? He called New England back and asked about another quarterback on the team's roster: Tom Brady.
Glazer told the lighthearted tale earlier today on FOX's pregame show:
John Lynch is a legend for trying to trade for Tom Brady
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 5, 2017
(via @JayGlazer) https://t.co/sggaVkeLOx
Of course, the Patriots did not trade Brady, who grew up a fan of the 49ers, and consequently placed their trust in the greatest quarterback of all time to keep playing at this high a level for the foreseeable future. San Francisco, in the meantime, still received the quarterback they wanted when New England shipped Garoppolo west a few months later.