Written by Will Brinson at CBS Sports.com
The hype surrounding Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo died down a bit after the draft and free agency, but as we approach the start of training camp, it is starting to swirl again.
Garoppolo was famously not traded by the Pats this offseason, who demanded an exorbitant price for the former second-round pick on the final year of his rookie contract. The argument for dealing him is the Patriots can’t afford Garoppolo, but the argument against trading him is the Patriots are not quite comfortable with Jacoby Brissett running the offense and want insurance if anything happens to Tom Brady, injury or otherwise.
New England looks more loaded than last season, when it won the Super Bowl and still has two quality quarterbacks under contract. They very well might have two top-25 passers: some people believe Garoppolo would be capable of taking even a bad team to the playoffs.
Speaking to Mike Giardi of CSN New England, one former Patriots player said Garoppolo would make the Browns a “borderline playoff team.”
“I played against him every day in practice. He’s all that,” the anonymous player told Giardi. “He can make all the throws. He can process all the information. He is a gamer. He can slow it down. He can spin it. I’m going tell you this, if he had gotten traded to Cleveland, they’re a borderline playoff team. I really believe that.”
The Browns are a really young team, one that probably has a ceiling of about six wins. They have an impressive offensive line they spent the offseason upgrading through free agency, there are some skill position guys (David Njoku, Isaiah Crowell, Corey Coleman, Duke Johnson) with lots of upside and the defense added a lot of young parts (Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers, Larry Ogunjobi, Jamie Collins) over the last nine months.
To continue reading this article, click here.
