Evan Lazar of CLNS Media Network made Bay Area headlines earlier this month when he reported that the New England Patriots had inquired about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo before re-signing Cam Newton.
They were shut down.
It was long assumed that Bill Belichick sought a reunion with his former heir apparent to Tom Brady, and the report confirmed that. Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal had previously reported that the Patriots coveted Garoppolo as "Plan A" at quarterback, hoping to reacquire him this offseason.
The 49ers have no desire to part ways with Garoppolo — at least, not without an alternative in the building. The team is even looking into bolstering the backup quarterback job with a veteran, reportedly pursuing Andy Dalton before he signed with the Bears and now bringing in Joe Flacco for a visit. After all, Garoppolo missed 10 games last season, and the injury-ravaged team stumbled to just six wins. San Francisco wants to avoid another scenario in which it depends on a Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard to carry the team for an extended timeframe.
The inquiries could be interpreted as yet another vote of confidence in Garoppolo as the 49ers' starter in 2021. That doesn't mean the Patriots won't keep trying to reclaim him. For now, though, it would appear that San Francisco has no desire to engage in those discussions.
Bedard further discussed the Patriots and Garoppolo on the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast (h/t to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports), reiterating some of the things he said earlier this month.
"Jimmy Garoppolo has always been plan A for this team," Bedard told Nick Cattles. "They have tried to get him. They have tried to engage with the 49ers. The 49ers will not engage, at least to this point, without having something better or their own sort of plan. And the Patriots are like, 'Alright, fine.' The words that I was told was the 49ers are screwing around. They're not really engaging. And the Patriots said, 'Alright, fine. We're moving (on).'
"The Patriots are not going to wait around. Yes, they love Jimmy. Would they have liked to have Jimmy here? Yes. But they're not going to sit around and wait and pine for Jimmy because what happens? Then you're left with nothing. You could be left with nothing at the end of the day."
Bedard adds that the Patriots still have the ability to acquire Garoppolo if the situation in San Francisco leads to a divorce between team and quarterback. However, that becomes more difficult as time passes, and Belichick may look to the draft for a long-term answer.
"It's not out of the realm of possibility that the 49ers release Garoppolo at some point with the 25 million (dollars) he's on their books, and maybe they see, 'We're going to do this. We're going to do that in the draft,'" Bedard added while sharing what he heard from someone else. "That is possible. So look, there is a light on for Jimmy G. Trust me. And it will probably always stay on for Jimmy G."