49ers Tried To Trade For Jimmy Garoppolo This Offseason
The 49ers made a seismic move on Monday night in trading for Jimmy Garoppolo, but the franchise attempted to make this trade earlier this offseason.
John Lynch said he pursued a Garoppolo swap earlier this year, but the 49ers and Patriots evidently couldn’t agree on terms.
“We studied him hard,” Lynch said, via 49ers.com (video link). “We studied him hard this offseason. We tried to do a deal this offseason. It didn’t come to fruition. It presented itself now and we felt like it was an opportunity we had to jump at.”
The 49ers made multiple moves to bring in new quarterbacks this offseason, only Lynch continued to say the team was monitoring the situation regarding the acquisition of a franchise quarterback. The team’s Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard transactions did not move the needle in this area, as expected, and Lynch said Tuesday that Beathard will now move into a situation where he can learn from Garoppolo long-term. The 49ers do not have a contract with Garoppolo yet, but that or a franchise tag would seem logical now that he’s under team control.
The Browns joined the 49ers in pursuing Garoppolo, being far more closely connected to the then-Patriots backup than the 49ers were, and made an offer during the draft. But there may have been a disconnect among the Browns about that potential move.
As for the Patriots, they are now without a Tom Brady successor. Bill Belichick said this choice was looming the past couple of years. Brady is signed through the 2019 season, and while there aren’t many parallels of quarterbacks playing well into their 40s, he’s defied age norms to this point. Belichick added today he views the 40-year-old passer as a year-to-year proposition, but in making this trade, it’s fairly clear the 18th-year Patriots coach believes Brady will be around for the foreseeable future.
“As [Garoppolo’s] career moves forward, we have to look at our team, both this year and beyond. We probably had, in my opinion, the best QB situation in the league for the last, call it, 2½ years,” Belichick said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “It is just not sustainable given the way that things are set up.
“[The Brady-Garoppolo setup is] definitely not something we wanted to walk away from, and I felt we rode it out as long as we could. We’ve, over a period of time, explored every option possible to sustain it but, at this point, it felt like we had to make a decision. It’s a very complex situation on multiple levels. This is really the last window that we had and we did what we felt was best for the team.”
New England could look to add former Brady backup Brian Hoyer, whom the 49ers released on Monday night, as the post-Garoppolo insurance policy.
Patriots Open To Trading Malcolm Butler
The Patriots remain willing to move cornerback Malcolm Butler, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) hears. JLC goes on to speculate that the Pats could package the second-round pick they acquired from the Niners in the Jimmy Garoppolo blockbuster to bring home a quality player. 
[RELATED: Patriots Trade QB Jimmy Garoppolo To 49ers]
Butler, 27, is headed for free agency after the 2017 season. The Patriots, unwilling to commit to him this summer, shopped him hard and nearly sent him to the Saints. Butler is back to playing quality football after a shaky start to the season, but the Patriots are in in the same place – they need to think hard about moving the cornerback if they are unwilling to commit serious dollars to him in March.
The Garoppolo deal could spur Bill Belichick & Co. to package Butler with their draft capital for something better, as La Canfora suggested, but Monday’s deal could have the opposite effect on potential Butler talks. Before the trade, the Patriots were seemingly on course to re-sign or franchise tag Garoppolo for a lot of money. With the young QB out of the equation, there should be more money available to lock up Butler, if that’s what they want to do.
As of this writing, Butler is Pro Football Focus’ No. 31 ranked cornerback in the NFL. He was ranked No. 7 in 2016.
Patriots Searching For Run-Stuffers
- After shipping backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers earlier tonight, the Patriots are now on the hunt for defensive run-stuffers, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). In fact, La Canfora suggests New England could use their newly-acquired second-round pick in order to pick up a defender before tomorrow’s trade deadline. Of course, given that San Francisco’s second-rounder will likely be the No. 33 or 34 selection in the 2018 draft, the Patriots would likely be looking for a high-impact defensive player.
49ers To Acquire QB Jimmy Garoppolo
The 49ers have agreed to acquire quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. San Francisco owns two 2018 second-rounders, but New England will acquire the 49ers’ original pick, per Schefter (Twitter link).
The deal is a stunning transaction on multiple levels, but perhaps the most curious aspect of the trade is that New England hadn’t expressed in any interest in moving Garoppolo despite the presence of Tom Brady under center. Bill Belichick & Co. reportedly rejected multiple trade offers in exchange for Garoppolo before the draft, and instead dealt third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett before the season began.
But instead of potentially using the franchise tag on Garoppolo next spring before trying to trade him, New England has moved him now following talks that began Monday morning, per Schefter (Twitter link). The fourth-year pro will head to San Francisco, where he’ll become the starting quarterback under head coach Kyle Shanahan not only for the rest of the 2017 campaign, but for the foreseeable future.
Garoppolo, of course, offers limited NFL experience, as he’s spent the majority of his Patriots tenure as Brady’s understudy. But the Eastern Illinois product was able to start two games for New England in 2016 while Brady was serving a four-game suspension. While Garoppolo played well in his time on the field, he was injured early in his second start, meaning the regular season film on him is extremely limited.
The 49ers will also need to work out an extension for Garoppolo, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next season. While San Francisco could use the franchise tag in 2018, the club presumably wouldn’t have traded for Garoppolo if it didn’t have every intention of handing him a long-term contract. The 49ers rank in the top-five of cap space in each of the next three seasons, meaning they have ample funds to spend on their new signal-caller.
San Francisco’s acquisition of Garoppolo also has wide-ranging implications for the rest of the league and the 2018 quarterback market. Given the presence of Shanahan, the 49ers have long been viewed as the No. 1 destination for Redskins passer Kirk Cousins, who will become a free agent next spring barring a third consecutive franchise tender. San Francisco is now out of the Cousins equation, making next year’s open market all the more complicated.
The Patriots, meanwhile, are clearly banking on Brady (now age-40) playing for several more seasons, something he’s vowed to do. In the near-term, New England will need to add another quarterback, as Brady is now the only signal-caller on the club’s roster. The Pats auditioned several signal-callers, including Matt Barkley and Matt McGloin, earlier this year.
Pats RB Dion Lewis Drawing Trade Interest
Multiple clubs are attempting to pry running back Dion Lewis away from the Patriots, but a deal is unlikely to occur, according to Michael Lombardi of the Ringer (Twitter link).
Lewis has rebounded from injury-marred 2015 and 2016 campaigns to become New England’s lead back in a running back rotation that also includes Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, and James White. Although he still trails Gillislee in total carries, Lewis has led the Patriots in rushes in each of the past three games (all victories), and has now totaled 329 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Among backs with fewer than 55 carries, Lewis is second in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR, a metric which attempts to quantify a player’s value over replacement.
This isn’t the first time Lewis has been mentioned in trade rumors — New England received inquiries on the veteran back just before the start of the season, but no swap was ever completed. Despite his injury history, Lewis remains a critical part of the Patriots’ No. 2-DVOA-ranked offense. As such, rival teams may have a better chance at trading for Gillislee than Lewis at this point, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
Lewis is scheduled to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He’s earning $1.2MM in base salary this year as part of a two-year extension he signed in 2015, and an acquiring club would be responsible for the remainder of that figure. The Patriots wouldn’t incur any dead money on their salary cap by trading Lewis given that he’s in the final season of his contract.
Matt Patricia Would Need "Perfect" Situation To Leave Patriots
- Much like Josh McDaniels has resettled with the Patriots, Matt Patricia may be difficult to pry out of New England as well. The longtime Pats defensive coordinator would need the “perfect situation” to leave for an HC gig, Pelissero notes. Patricia, 43, has been a monitored HC candidate for years.
Could Patriots Land Martavis Bryant?
- The Steelers are ignoring Martavis Bryant‘s trade request and plan to continue ignoring it, according to Albert Breer of SI.com, which makes it sound as if Pittsburgh is going to try and make things work with its disgruntled but talented wideout. However, that has not stopped contending teams from inquiring on Bryant, according to Rapoport (video link), who suggests that the Steelers are willing to at least listen to offers. The Patriots are one potential landing spot, as they discussed trading for Bryant prior to the draft.
Opinion: Akeem Ayers Could Be Pats Target
In the wake of Dont’a Hightower‘s season-ending injury, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes Akeem Ayers would be a logical candidate for the Patriots should the team look to add a hybrid-type linebacker. Reiss notes that Ayers, who was a part of New England’s Super Bowl-winning team in 2014, was in for a workout prior to the start of the season but the Patriots decided to pass at the time. A second-round selection in 2011 by Tennessee, Ayers last played with the Colts in 2016 and posted two sacks and an interception.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/27/17
Today’s workout updates:
Buffalo Bills
- RB Marcus Murphy, Dare Ogunbowale, Jhurell Pressley, Jahad Thomas, Marquez Williams; CB Marcus Burley, Will Davis, Trevin Wade (Twitter link via Howard Balzer)
Los Angeles Chargers
- K Andrew Franks, Younghoe Koo, Jason Myers (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com)
New England Patriots
- DT Deandre Coleman (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Giants
- DE Ryan Delaire (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
San Francisco 49ers
- P Jeff Locke (link via Balzer)
Pats Could Still Re-Sign CB Malcolm Butler
Although reports near the beginning of the season indicated cornerback Malcolm Butler would likely leave the Patriots following the 2017 campaign, there is in fact mutual contractual interest between New England and the former Super Bowl hero, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. However, negotiations aren’t expected to take place until the season concludes.
Butler, of course, was reportedly dangled in trade talks all offseason, and also had a restricted free agent dalliance with the Saints that ultimately led nowhere. He’s now teaming with free agent acquisition Stephon Gilmore in a surprisingly poor secondary, and that hefty investment in Gilmore (five years, $65MM) could lead to Butler going elsewhere.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier this year that the Patriots were “done” negotiating with Butler, although that could have meant the club wouldn’t rekindle talks until the offseason. Butler looks the like the best cornerback scheduled to enter the 2018 free agent market (other options include Vontae Davis and Trumaine Johnson), and New England would be entitled to a compensatory selection — likely in the third round — if Butler signs with another club.
The franchise tag could conceivably be an option, but Rapoport indicated the Patriots had no interest in using that tender on Butler in 2018. Next year’s cornerback tag will likely be worth north of $15MM, meaning New England would be investing a significant amount of money in its defensive backfield. Butler is currently earning just $3.91MM this season under his restricted free agent tender.
Butler, 27, struggled earlier this year, but he’s settled in and returned to his typical levels of production. He’s played on 95% of the Patriots’ defensive snaps, and grades as the NFL’s No. 22 cornerback through seven games, per Pro Football Focus. While he’s managed two interceptions on the season, Butler ranks just 57th among 63 qualifiers in Football Outsiders’ success rate.