Felger & Mazz: Mike Florio Thinks Patriots Will Push To Keep Garoppolo This Offseason
BOSTON (CBS) -- Felger & Massarotti welcomed Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio to the show on Wednesday at Radio Row in Houston, and after spending some time on everyone's favorite subject -- DeflateGate -- they moved on to talk about some actual football.
As the Patriots prepare to face the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, some are wondering what the future holds for backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. A recent report has the Cleveland Browns "strongly considering" trading for Garoppolo this offseason, but Florio isn't so sure New England will want to part with Tom Brady's potential successor.
"The talk has been a first and a fourth-round pick, because that's what the Eagles got for Sam Bradford. I don't know that that's the starting point or the ending point, but if the Patriots think that much of Garoppolo then they need to trade him and they need to trade him this year to the NFC West or some other division in the conference they don't face every year," said Florio. "If you ride out the final year of his contract, what does he do? He goes to Buffalo or the Jets, and you have to deal with him twice a year.
"I think there's a chance they could pull the Jedi mind trick on him and have him take $8-9 million a year to continue to be backup to Tom Brady and take over. He's in the bubble," added Florio. "Bill Belichick runs everything. Garoppolo is represented by Don Yee's firm (Brady's agent), so he's going to know how long Brady is going to play. Don Yee has done these below-market deals to keep Brady happy and keep Brady in New England. The ingredients are there for Garoppolo to eventually say 'I'll take a below-market deal and wait for Tom to retire.'"
Florio isn't sure if the Patriots are leaning towards keeping Garoppolo or cashing in on his early-season success when he filled in for a suspended Brady, but he notes that just about anyone on the New England roster could be traded.
"They need to ask themselves, 'What is the plan beyond 2017?' Is [Garoppolo] going to walk away as a free agent and what would we get as a compensatory pick in 2019? I firmly believe when Bill Belichick says he's focused on the here and the now, he's not focused on the next year," he said. "But the minute the game is over, one of the items will be 'What do we do with Jimmy Garoppolo.' I think they'll make a big push to get him to stay."
Florio also makes his Super Bowl pick, or the team he's leaning towards the most as of Wednesday, and discusses Roger Goodell's real job as the commissioner of the NFL. Listen to the full interview: