HEADLINES

Browns Will Try To Acquire Jimmy Garoppolo

January 31st, 2017 at 6:47pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Browns are on track to enter this year’s draft with the first and 12th picks, two places where they could select their next starting quarterback, but their signal-caller of the future might already be in the NFL. The club has real interest in Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo and will attempt to swing a trade for the 25-year-old this offseason, reports Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.

Jimmy Garoppolo

AFC champion New England, which is set under center with the 39-year-old Tom Brady, is reportedly open to moving Garoppolo in the coming months. The Patriots could request at least a first- and fourth-round pick for Garoppolo, whose rookie contract will expire after next season.

For the Browns, acquiring Garoppolo would likely mean parting with the 12th selection, where they were supposedly set to zero in on national championship-winning Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. However, Watson’s decision to skip last week’s Senior Bowl may have hurt his standing with the Browns, who specifically asked him to play.

In addition to surrendering at least one high-round draft choice for Garoppolo, the team that acquires the three-year veteran would have to award him a hefty contract extension, writes Joel Corry of CBS Sports. The likelihood is that Garoppolo would want a deal similar to the four-year, $72MM pact (including $37MM) in guarantees the Texans gave ex-Broncos backup Brock Osweiler in free agency last winter.

While signing Osweiler has blown up in the Texans’ faces, Garoppolo’s limited sample of playing time has been far more impressive than Osweiler’s was with Denver. Garoppolo began the season as New England’s starter because of Brady’s four-game Deflategate ban, and he completed 42 of 59 passes for 496 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. The second game was Garoppolo’s last start of the year – and perhaps his Pats tenure – as he suffered a sprained AC joint on a hit from Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso and sat out for the remainder of Brady’s suspension.

Even though Garoppolo would likely fetch a quality return via trade this offseason, the Patriots could be inclined to keep him, observes Corry. As great as Brady is, he’ll turn 41 in 2018 – the same year in which Garoppolo is slated to become a free agent – meaning the Patriots could elect to retain the understudy to guard against the elder’s potential decline. That would mean either placing the franchise tag on Garoppolo or handing him a short-term contract worth “top backup money” (as much as $12MM per year, including incentives). It could help the Pats’ cause that their rapport with Garoppolo’s representatives at Yee & Dubin Sports is “excellent,” per Corry.

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