Greg Bedard of The Boston Sports Journal recently reported that Jimmy Garoppolo is the New England Patriots' top option at quarterback for the 2021 season. There's just one problem. Garoppolo is on another NFL roster—the San Francisco 49ers'.
"From what I gather from talking to people this week, over the past week, Jimmy Garoppolo still is far and away their Plan A," Bedard said on a recent podcast. "That, if they had to draw it up, exactly the optimal situation for the Patriots for this coming season, it's Jimmy G coming back here. And of course, that's all dependent on the 49ers doing something."
Former NFL coach Eric Mangini, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and held various coaching roles with the 49ers from 2013-15, isn't buying into the report. He joined Colin Cowherd on FS1's The Herd and discussed the report from Bedard. Much of the skepticism has to do with the level of secrecy in New England.
"I don't know how it's Plan A," Mangini recently told Cowherd. "First of all, I don't know how anybody knows what the Patriots' plans are because the only people that really know are Bill (Belichick) and maybe (football research director) Ernie Adams, at this point. So to say one guy is Plan A -- he's Plan A because everybody knows that he used to play for the Patriots, and he could be on the street, so that makes him Plan A."
San Francisco pulled off a mid-season trade for Garoppolo in 2017. The quarterback went on to start the final five games of the season for the 49ers, winning all of them. That led to the Niners signing Garoppolo to a five-year, $137.5 million deal and lofty expectations from the fanbase heading into the next season.
Garoppolo suffered an ACL injury during his third outing of the 2018 season, and the 49ers went on to win just four games. In 2019, the quarterback started all 16 games for the first time in his career, guiding—with the help of an elite defense—San Francisco to a 13-3 record, the NFC West crown, and a Super Bowl appearance.
Garoppolo missed 10 games due to injuries last season, bringing his total to 23 missed games over the past three years. That, combined with his salary-cap figure of $25 million, has led to rampant speculation that the 49ers might be looking to not only upgrade at quarterback but possibly reduce the financial commitment at the position.
At this point, that's all the chatter is—speculation. Garoppolo remains a part of San Francisco's roster, and general manager John Lynch recently declared that he does not doubt that the quarterback will be on the team in September.
Added Mangini: "But you can't go into an offseason talking about another team's player as Plan A unless you've got some kind of deal in place. So, it makes no sense to categorize it that way."