Oddsmaker Bovada has provided odds for where New England Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo could end up next season, including a possible surprise at the top of the list.
There’s a three-way tie for 5th place with 12/1 odds with the New York Jets, Houston Texans, and the Denver Broncos. The Jets invested a second round pick in QB Christian Hackenberg in 2016, while the Broncos spent a first round pick on QB Paxton Lynch and the Texans spent a billion dollars on QB Brock Osweiler, making all three teams a long shot for acquiring Garoppolo.
The San Francisco 49ers are in 4th place with 9/2 odds, preceded by the 3rd place Cleveland Browns (3/1) and the 2nd place Chicago Bears (9/4). All three teams have a real chance of acquiring Garoppolo.
In 1st place is the New England Patriots, with 2/1 odds, which might come as a surprise. Bovada is giving a 33% chance that Garoppolo will remain in New England; that sounds about right to me.
MMQB’s Albert Breer shares an interesting eighth team that could be considered.
“I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating that 2014 draft evaluations count in the Jimmy Garoppolo sweepstakes,” Breer writes in his weekly column. “The Texans, for one, were high on him. Another team that fits in the category would be the Saints. Sean Payton is still in New Orleans, of course. And ex-Saints exec Ryan Pace is now the Bears’ GM.
“And while we’re there, the Browns coaches liked Garoppolo then too. Both Niners coach Kyle Shanahan and Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains were on that staff.”
The Saints are a team that no one is considering, despite the fact they have a 38-year-old quarterback and no back-up in the cards- Luke McCown will turn 36 before the 2017 season and Garrett Grayson was a practice squad body in 2016. I don’t think New Orleans has the draft capital available to swing a trade, but it’s an interesting thought.
And as Breer also notes, there are very clear connections between the Texans, Bears, Browns, and 49ers and Garoppolo as the decision makers for those teams loved the quarterback in the scouting process.
“I think the team he would end up on would be San Francisco,” former Patriots and Browns exec Michael Lombardi said. “When I was in Cleveland for a little bit of time [...] Kyle Shanahan, whom we hired, he loved Garoppolo. Loved him. I would think they have enough assets in San Francisco to make that work.”
There is a very clear trio of teams- Browns, 49ers, Bears- that have available draft capital and a link to Garoppolo. It will be a matter of which team is willing to outbid the others for his services.
In the end, who knows. Odds are still greatest that Garoppolo remains with the Patriots.
Bovada also shared an over/under of how many games TE Rob Gronkowski will play in 2017 (I hate this). It’s set at 10.5 games, although the odds favor the over.