Schefter: Expect Pats to Keep Garoppolo Beyond 2017

[SHOWTIME15]

Win another one. Unless you think he's tired of winning or enjoying everything that goes with playing football at an elite level.

But at what cost? More concussions? You reach a point in this league when it's just not worth it.

 

[Love The Drake]

Patriots have shown their cards maybe they planned to lock up Brady long-term but then something changed.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm not sure that's really true.

First off, there was talk of extending Brady yet again. It hasn't happened yet, of course, but it could.

Second, if you look back at what's happened this year, while they might appear to be in "win now" mode, they haven't really done anything that would risk putting them in cap jail mode in the future (except perhaps the Gilmore signing).

I was talking more about them keeping Garoppolo, what Gisele said last week (coupled with her asking him to retire after the Super Bowl), and now the reports that the Pats plan to keep Garoppolo after 2017 by a man that has been on the money throughout this entire process. I don't claim to know what WILL happen. I'm just reading tea leaves wouldn't be surprised, given what we've heard, if this IS Brady's last year.

 

[Tony2046]

But at what cost? More concussions? You reach a point in this league when it's just not worth it.

Yeah that point is up to Brady. He may have already decided that and that may be why they are keeping JG. I don't know.

My only point is that as of right now because of the way Brady is playing they are not going to trade him so that they can move on to JG. That wouldn't be fair to both JG or Brady. It would put immense pressure on JG to perform coming from both inside and outside of the locker room and it would strip Brady of an opportunity to finish out his career while playing at a high SB winning level.

 

[Ross12]

Yikes!! BB doesn't know what JG can do during a 16 game season, during a playoff game, during a game day two minute drill or if he can come from behind with a five minutes left in the game during a Super Bowl. He doesn't know because JG hasn't been there. JG has played one and a half games. That's it. It is a hunch. Yes BB's hunch is better than anyone else's may be but nevertheless a hunch.

JG is potentially a great QB. TB is a great QB. Nobody knows how good JG is until he has played a full season and nobody will know how great he is until he has played multiple seasons.

Trading Brady to play JG would be on of craziest moves in NFL history. It would be stupid on so many levels.

For JG's sake he better hope he takes over because Brady retired because if it's because Brady was traded the immense pressure for him to deliver would be exponentially higher. Steve Young went through something similar and that's after he replaced Joe Montana who had been injured for two whole seasons.

Every year is a new year, though. Brady's obviously done it all but that doesn't necessarily mean BB feels as confident in a new year that he can still do it as reliably as he had before. I totally get what you're saying, but I think if BB thinks Jimmy's got "it", he's not going to get rid of him in his potential prime. We're living on borrowed time with Brady, in a sense. He's shown no signs of slowing down, but none of us know when he will, or how deep that cliff when be when he arrives at it.

 

[Ross12]

If you read the tea leaves, it's becoming more and more likely that Brady has at least hinted that 2017 will be his last ride. Everything we've seen transpire and have heard is pointing toward that being the case (assuming Schefter is correct again).

I have gotten that feeling as well but I haven't been able to put my finger on why.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Yeah that point is up to Brady. He may have already decided that and that may be why they are keeping JG. I don't know.

My only point is that as of right now because of the way Brady is playing they are not going to trade him so that they can move on to JG. That wouldn't be fair to both JG or Brady. It would put immense pressure on JG to perform coming from both inside and outside of the locker room and it would strip Brady of an opportunity to finish out his career while playing at a high SB winning level.

I think belichick is going to see how he performs this year. I mean the man has been around football for nearly 50 years - he knows how much time brady has left to play at a high level. Brady also took an enormous beating in the playoffs last year against houston and atlanta. How much more can his body take at age 40?

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

Tom gets his last ring this season and retires to be Patriot QB coach or a Consultant on Offense as Josh gets a HC gig elsewhere............JG starts as QB in 2018........Tom gets quality home time with Gisele & kids.......Hawkins makes team this year , gets a ring and signs on as the WR coach next year......

My understanding is that NFL coaches, particularly those on the Patriots, work more hours per week than the players, and just about any other profession out there. It's not a good job for someone wanting more home time.

 

[Bonzo]

Tom gets his last ring this season and retires to be Patriot QB coach or a Consultant on Offense as Josh gets a HC gig elsewhere............JG starts as QB in 2018........Tom gets quality home time with Gisele & kids.......Hawkins makes team this year , gets a ring and signs on as the WR coach next year......

Pats win again this year, I think there's about a 0% chance Brady doesn't want to take another crack at the 3-peat.

 

[fnordcircle]

I'm pretty convinced at this point. If they don't trade him by week 6 for some sort of crazy draft haul then they are all in on Jimmy. I never would have believed this but I can't deny the evidence in their actions.

 

[tasmlab]

Does it matter that JG only lasted six quarters before getting injured?

 

[oldrover]

Schefter: Expect Pats to Keep Garoppolo Beyond 2017

Oh, no...

 

[FCB02062]

If keeping both quarterbacks means you have to go bargain basement with some positions and instead of winning 12, 13, 14 games a year for 2 or 3 years you win 9 or 10 games each year, I'm down with it. I would keep Garapollo and suffer the "cap jail" of huge expenditures at the position. We all saw that Garapollo is right probably a top 12, 15 quarterback now. I believe that, anyway. I firmly believe this team could, for example, have both qbs, skimp on say rb and wr hypothetically, and still compete for the division and make the playoffs.

 

[Clonamery]

I have gotten that feeling as well but I haven't been able to put my finger on why.

TB doesn't want you touching Gisele.

 

[Tony2046]

Every year is a new year, though. Brady's obviously done it all but that doesn't necessarily mean BB feels as confident in a new year that he can still do it as reliably as he had before. I totally get what you're saying, but I think if BB thinks Jimmy's got "it", he's not going to get rid of him in his potential prime. We're living on borrowed time with Brady, in a sense. He's shown no signs of slowing down, but none of us know when he will, or how deep that cliff when be when he arrives at it.

Here's what I think.

Trading Brady while playing at his current level does the following:
a. Creates a PR nightmare especially if he goes to a team and that team starts winning while the Pats struggle.
b. Puts tremendous pressure on JG from both inside and outside of the locker room.
c. Risks giving away a possible championship season if Brady had stayed.

If Brady retires:
a. JG gets to start as the next QB rather than the QB BB thought was better than Brady.
b. No Patriot fan or media backlash.

I personally think Brady will retire whether he has hit a cliff or not after this season or the next. I also think he has already discussed this with BB and Kraft. But BB will never trade TB to move on to JG.

 

[Tuck]

Schefter doesn't know anything that all the rest of us already know.

Disagree. Schefter was insistent about the team keeping JG throughout the off season. That information had to have come from somewhere in the organization - it wasn't just a lucky guess.

 

[upstater1]

People may be reading into this way too much.

One thing I never hear being discussed is Brady's mother in all this. I know she is doing better but there is no word that she has beaten it. If she hasn't, in any given week, there is potential for Brady to not be around to play.

This team needs a starting level QB at #2 for that reason alone.

Then we get to the end of the season and they reevaluate how Brady performed.

If Brady performed as he did this year, they are not going to franchise Garropolo ($20-$25m). No way.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm pretty convinced at this point. If they don't trade him by week 6 for some sort of crazy draft haul then they are all in on Jimmy. I never would have believed this but I can't deny the evidence in their actions.

Hard to come to grips with, man. It's going to REALLY suck watching #12 walk out that door. If they win the Super Bowl again this year and he announces that he's retiring, it will ruin the Super Bowl win for me. But it is what it is. Father Time is undefeated. People seem to be stuck on whether or not the team will screw him but, as has already been mentioned, they were working on an extension for him until that talk died down. If I had to guess, I'd say there is a damn good reason for that and that it was talked about behind the scenes. Unfortunately, all signs are pointing to the fact that this is Brady's last. I sincerely hope that's not the case, but it's hard not to imagine it.

 

[Tony2046]

I think belichick is going to see how he performs this year. I mean the man has been around football for nearly 50 years - he knows how much time brady had left to play at a high level. Brady also took an enormous beating in the playoffs last year against houston and atlanta. How much more can his body take at age 40?

BB doesn't know how much time Brady has left to play at a high level but he is aware that Brady is getting old and therefore has a great insurance policy in JG if Brady should start to decline.

Brady was skiing and vacationing days after the Super Bowl. Had an interview with King and stated he felt good. So I'm sure he's physically capable of playing.

I think if Brady played without concern to his long term health he could play until he's 45 but I really hope he doesn't. I hope that if he and his family decide that he needs to hang them up because of long term concerns that he'll do just that.

 

[Tony2046]

Hard to come to grips with, man. It's going to REALLY suck watching #12 walk out that door. If they win the Super Bowl again this year and he announces that he's retiring, it will ruin the Super Bowl win for me. But it is what it is. Father Time is undefeated. People seem to be stuck on whether or not the team will screw him but, as has already been mentioned, they were working on an extension for him until that talk died down. If I had to guess, I'd say there is a damn good reason for that and that it was talked about behind the scenes. Unfortunately, all signs are pointing to the fact that this is Brady's last. I sincerely hope that's not the case, but it's hard not to imagine it.

Definitely reasonable to think that way. It may be just some faulty dried up tea leaves but it does feel different this offseason.