The Patriots surprised the football world tonight by trading back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2018 second round draft pick. 

The Patriots resisted the urge to trade  Garoppolo this past off season, insisting that they needed a viable back up due to Tom Brady’s age. 

The Patriots were rumored to have turned down a pretty good offer from the Browns this past off-season. That is what makes this trade so peculiar. If Bill Belichick knew all along that he was going to trade Garoppolo, why not trade him to Cleveland? I don’t buy the narrative that he wanted to wait and see how Brady would play at 40 before trading Garoppolo. That makes no sense. Belichick knows what he has in Brady.

Bottom line, the Patriots could have gotten more for Garoppolo had they traded him prior to the draft. Instead, Belichick stood pat and got less in return. Once again, Belichick the general manager has let Belichick the coach down. 

The Patriots need a back up quarterback and with Brian Hoyer now available after being released by the 49ers, a reunion with the journeyman is possible. Hoyer was signed an undrafted free agent by the Patriots in 2009. He knows the system and can step in right away and back up Brady. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Hoyer signed this week.

The Jimmy Garoppolo era is over in New England. The Patriots are going to go with Tom Brady until he either regresses or retires. It is hard to believe that in a span of three months, they traded both Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo. If you had told me that both back up quarterbacks would have been traded by mid season, I would have told you were crazy. Well, Garoppolo and Brissett are gone. This is still Tom Brady’s team and this trade reinforces that notion.