NEWSLETTER
Although rumors have started to pick up steam that the New England Patriots will not trade their walk-year back-up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Jason La Canfora reminds folks that there’s always a price in these things. Sure, you’ll hear plenty of “yes, they’ll trade him” “no, he’s totally unavailable” rumor chatter over the next month, but the reality is that Garoppolo is, of course, available.
The price is the question, as it always is in these situations.
But there’s an interesting wrinkle to that question, as Garoppolo, himself, may wind up having a significant impact on the price of the trade. How? Well, given that he’s under control for only one more year, any team trading for him is going to want to sign Garoppolo to an extension. If Garoppolo is not amenable to signing long-term with a given team, then, their offered price is going to be negatively impacted.
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La Canfora takes that logic a step further in his latest:
I don’t anticipate Belichick himself investing a lot of energy or resources into negotiating a trade at all — that’s up to agent Don Yee, who represents Brady and Garoppolo. If Yee finds a team that his player is willing to sign with long-term, and that team presents a package of assets that is to Belichick’s liking, then he’ll gladly move on with Brady and Jacoby Brissett for 2017 and continue to draft developmental quarterbacks ….
That is to say, it’s possible Garoppolo and his agent will ultimately lead the “trade” discussions at the outset, finding the right long-term fit, and then, only after that’s all but agreed upon, the team will come to the Patriots with an acceptable trade offer. If you’re thinking that significantly undercuts the leverage for the Patriots, you’d be right. Maybe they won’t be able to squeeze that first round pick out of a team after all, especially if Garoppolo is very particular about his next team and/or if there’s a team that is willing to go above and beyond on a contract for him.
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If Garoppolo really is “far and away” the Bears’ top priority this offseason, then, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where they offer up an aggressive contract, and the Chicago-area native wants to join the Bears so much that the Patriots are all but forced to accept a slightly lesser trade package than they might be able to get from the absolute highest bidder. To be quite clear, I am only speculating about the scenario.
You can read more of the latest from La Canfora here, including more Bears connections to Garoppolo and his agent, as well as the other interested teams.
Garoppolo Watch remains a “full speed ahead” situation.
