This is going to be a broken record, but it’s worth sharing because it’s the week of the NFL Draft: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (for the billionth time) that New England Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo “isn’t going anywhere.”
ICYMI (in February): Jimmy Garappolo isn't going anywhere. His name continues to surface in trade rumors and speculation - not happening.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2017
Schefter has been reporting this for months, as have many other NFL insiders, and the fact that Schefter thought it necessary to file this report update the week of the draft is important from a timing perspective.
There was a chance that the Patriots were using Schefter as trade leverage early in the offseason process with the expectation that if anything changed, Schefter would be the first to know about it. Schefter was one of the first to say that the Patriots were looking for a first and fourth round pick for Garoppolo, and was one of the first to change his tune to say that Garoppolo was staying in New England- so Schefter’s been heavily involved from the start.
So now that the draft is mere days away, Schefter’s report that there is nothing happening on the Garoppolo-front is important because it holds more weight than reports from back in December or February.
Unless there is a complete shock in the draft board- like, if Deshaun Watson and Mitchell Trubisky go to the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns don’t have a chance to trade up make their pick- the Browns are probably going to draft their rookie quarterback and Garoppolo will remain with the Patriots in 2017 as an insurance policy for Tom Brady.