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JagsFanJay · 12-28-2016, 08:02 PM

Now We Know What The Patriots Want For Jimmy Garoppolo, Would You Trade For Him?



Frank Schwab: Shutdown Corner

In case any interested teams were wondering what the price tag for New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would be, now we have an idea.

On “Kirk and Callahan” on WEEI in Boston, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the starting point in negotiations would be a first- and fourth-round pick. That’s what the Minnesota Vikings gave up for Sam Bradford a few months ago.

That price is fair, considering Bradford had proven to be mediocre – a trend that has unsurprisingly continued this year – and Garoppolo still has the mystery element to him. But would you give a first and fourth for Garoppolo?

Here’s what we know about Garoppolo. He has the pedigree of a late second-round pick. He has a sparkling 107.4 rating, but that comes over just 93 career passes. He has five touchdowns and no interceptions, and has generally looked good in his limited NFL action. He has played well within the Patriots’ scheme, though there are moments you are reminded he’s very inexperienced (for more read these two Greg Cosell breakdowns here and here). ESPN has also said the Patriots might not trade Garoppolo, but it’s just smart business for the team to put that message out there and protect his trade value. Maybe the Patriots hold onto him, but let’s assume they’ll listen to all trade offers.

If you could just bottle up what Garoppolo has shown over 93 NFL passes and assume he’d keep doing that in a different environment for the next 10 years, you’d be thrilled to trade just a first and fourth for him. But we know that’s not guaranteed. Brock Osweiler had seven promising starts with the Denver Broncos last season, he was a former second-round pick and the Houston Texans gambled a big contract on him. That didn’t work out. Osweiler was benched for Tom Savage two games ago. No matter how good Garoppolo has looked in limited action, you’d be trading a lot for a player who will be making his third career start on opening day next season.

And unlike a potential Garoppolo trade, the Texans didn’t even have to give up any draft picks to get Osweiler. Garoppolo’s rookie contract is up after 2017, so a team would have to give up the picks in a trade and give him a mega-deal to him before he hits free agency – no team is sending a first- and fourth-round pick to New England for one year of Garoppolo. So a team has to understand it is investing valuable draft capital and perhaps an Osweiler-type contract (even if it doesn’t reach the $18 million a year Osweiler and Bradford got, it won’t be cheap), and is doing so on a quarterback who has 93 career passes. The risk is obvious.

So now that we know generally what the Patriots will want when the trade window opens this offseason, teams in need of a quarterback have to ask themselves if Garoppolo’s small NFL sample size is worth a major commitment.