The San Francisco 49ers were pretty secretive on how the conversation with New England Patriots head coach and decision-maker Bill Belichick that ended with Jimmy Garoppolo headed to the Bay Area went down. General manager John Lynch did explain days after the trade that when the opportunity presented itself, he and head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed it for about 10 minutes and came to the conclusion that the deal was a "no-brainer."
It was initially reported that Belichick was the one to reach out to Lynch and Shanahan to see if they were still (more on that in a second) interested in Garoppolo.
Matt Miller of Bleacher Report paints a very different picture of what went down that late-October day in 2017. He says, according to one Patriots source, the 49ers had initially reached out to ask for Garoppolo but that Belichick instead offered future Hall of Fame quarterback and one of the best ever to play the game, Tom Brady. Lynch couldn't believe his ears when he heard the counter-offer, reports Miller.
Lynch and Shanahan, that previous offseason, had inquired about Garoppolo and were shut down. So they called Belichick back and asked about Brady, and were seemingly shut down even quicker.
"We were calling about Jimmy, and we did have that conversation and got quickly rebuffed," Lynch said two years ago. "I figured, what the heck? You've got to take your shot, right? You can't score if you don't shoot. I had to summon up the courage (to ask about Brady), and Bill laughed at me and basically hung up on me. But hey, I took my shot."
Miller reports that months later, Belichick, looking to transition to his quarterback of the future in Garoppolo, was more willing to deal Brady. And, apparently, the 49ers were more than willing to mull it over ... until the offer was taken off the table. And that decision reportedly didn't come from Belichick.
"(Robert) Kraft shut that s--t down fast," a source close to Belichick reportedly told Miller. "So, instead, Lynch gets Garoppolo, but Brady, Belichick, and Kraft haven't been the same since Tom learned that Bill was ready to get rid of him. And that lit a fire under his ass."
Brady went on to lead the Patriots to two more Super Bowls, winning one. The scorned quarterback exited New England this week and will continue his legacy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And now, the Patriots are left searching for a replacement.
Garoppolo, in his first full season as a starter, led the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV this past season.
H/t to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area for the find.
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