Howe: Timing Is Right For Patriots To 'Aggressively Pursue' Jimmy Garoppolo's Trade Value
BOSTON (CBS) -- On Monday, the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe wrote that the Patriots should explore Jimmy Garoppolo's trade value. Shortly after that story was published, news broke of a two-year extension for Tom Brady. The development doesn't change Howe's opinion.
"They need to figure out what his trade value is and whether or not it's beneficial to them to make that move as early as this offseason, before this draft, even if it's for a 2017 draft pick," Howe said Tuesday on Toucher & Rich.
Obviously, not much is known about Garoppolo as an NFL quarterback. He's thrown just 31 passes in the regular season in two years, and his preseason work is hard to really evaluate. But with a very thin crop of quarterbacks available in this year's draft, teams may come calling.
"If you can try to convince teams to manage their assets [smartly] and send them a guy who could very possibly be the best backup in the NFL in year three -- a guy who is only a year older than [projected top QB pick] Carson Wentz -- then I think this is a really good time for the Patriots to aggressively pursue that avenue," Howe said.
As to which teams might be interested, Howe said it could be a longer list than most folks might think.
"Let's be honest here: there are maybe 10 teams in the NFL that have a no-doubt-about-it, franchise-caliber quarterback," Howe said. "You go to the Browns. You go to the Cowboys. Honestly, there's probably 20 teams that you could talk to, just to get a feel for what they're looking at."
Howe said a 2016 second-round pick might end up being a fair price for Garoppolo, who was a second-round pick in 2014. But the potential could be there for the Patriots to get a 2017 first-rounder. Whatever the case may be, the need is there to at least gauge the market.
"The Patriots are in a good spot where they have options if Garoppolo's trade value is as high as it could potentially be," Howe said.
Listen to the full interview below: