February 22, 2017
NFL teams try to balance between winning right now and winning in the future. It is hard to maintain, and the few teams are able to do it year in and year out.
One of those teams is the New England Patriots. The Super Bowl champions have been able to win titles and stockpile draft picks for nearly two decades in the Belichick-Brady era.
While New England is waiting to see if quarterback Tom Brady will ever slow down, the Patriots already have a quarterback that could help build the program’s future.
New England made Jimmy Garoppolo its first pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. Garoppolo was the 62nd overall pick out of Eastern Illinois University.
As Brady continues to bathe in the fountain of youth, the Patriots have to decide what to do about Garoppolo. It seems the answer will be to trade him to a team that makes the best deal.
One of the teams that should at least pick up the phone is the New Orleans Saints. It’s likely that the 2017-2018 season will be the final season that quarterback Drew Brees plays for New Orleans.
It would be a great idea for New Orleans to inquire about Garoppolo. If the Saints can swing the trade, he will have the chance to study under two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
The asking price is the question, as is what Garoppolo’s actually value is.
There isn’t a lot of NFL tape on the quarterback since he has spent most of his time in the league sitting behind Brady. In three NFL seasons, http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GaroJi00.htm">Garoppolo has played in 17 games with just two starts. He has thrown 94 passes with 63 completions with five touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He started two of the four games during which Brady was suspended at the beginning of this season. He played well in both games before an injury forced rookie Jacoby Brissett to take over at quarterback.
The small sample size of Garoppolo’s NFL experience makes it hard to judge what he is worth. New England has traded away quarterbacks who didn’t go on to have success elsewhere.
The Patriots traded http://www.si.com/nfl/photo/2016/11/04/new-england-patriots-traded-bill-belichick">Drew Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills after the emergence of Brady. Bledsoe was at the end of his career and never did lead Buffalo to a Super Bowl.
Then, there was http://www.si.com/nfl/photo/2016/11/04/new-england-patriots-traded-bill-belichick">Matt Cassel, who took over for New England after a knee injury took Brady out for a season. The Patriots traded Cassell to the Kansas City Chiefs. He never turned into a star after leaving New England, and the Chiefs moved on from him.
Finally, there is http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000386515/article/ryan-mallett-traded-to-houston-texans-from-patriots">Ryan Mallett, who the Patriots traded to the Houston Texans. Houston eventually released him, but he is currently playing for the Baltimore Ravens in a backup role.
Ultimately, it’s up to New Orleans to decide if Garoppolo is worth the sacrifice. Would the Saints best be served by giving up the http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/228133/updated-2017-nfl-draft-order-for-top-24">11th pick of this year’s draft? That asking price seems high for a player without much proof of his ability on the field.
If the Saints can get Garoppolo and the 11th pick, then the trade is worth it, but a straight-up swap for the 11th player and Garoppolo isn’t worth it.
New Orleans could try to package several picks from this draft and future drafts to get a deal. After all, New England likes amassing picks to make moves in the draft or stockpile players. The Patriots make a lot of picks, and the more picks a team makes, the more likely they are to hit on players with those picks.
If Brees isn’t going to be around after next season, making a trade now for Garoppolo makes sense. There aren’t any surefire future stars at quarterback in this draft, and at least there is some tape on Garoppolo, including three years of preseason games.
New Orleans should consider all its options before making any deal, though. No need to destroy the future for a quarterback who, if history repeats, isn’t going to be a star.
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