NFL Reporter Advises Everyone To Ignore All The Jimmy Garoppolo Rumors
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL Draft is one month away. The San Francisco 49ers are (almost assuredly) going to draft their quarterback of the future. As such, we're all just sort of waiting to see what John Lynch does with one mister James Richard Garoppolo.
And in the interim, we're hearing quite a bit. The Niners want the world to believe that they're going to keep Jimmy G. and his $26.4 million cap hit on their roster in 2021. The Patriots seemingly want us to believe they're not interested in a reunion right now. We're likely to hear quite a bit more about it as the days and weeks go by.
But according to one NFL reporter, we should ignore just about all of it.
That was the message from NFL Network's Mike Giardi, who indicated that most of the reports and rumors floating around right now are essentially smoke screens.
"I would ignore just about anything you see/read on Garoppolo right now," Giardi tweeted. "Noise coming from all directions. Leverage plays. All of it."
Giardi, who primarily covers the Patriots and has a history of covering Garoppolo quite closely, did add one caveat: You better believe the Patriots want their guy back.
Well, except the #Patriots liking the player... https://t.co/3cHcMMk1f1
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 28, 2021
It's something worth keeping in mind as we hear various reports from unnamed sources over the next few weeks. Essentially, everything that leaks is being leaked for a reason.
It's also worth remembering that Garoppolo has a no-trade clause. So if (when) the Niners decide to trade him, they can't just simply dump him to the highest bidder. Garoppolo could (will) nix any trade that's to a place where he doesn't want to go. He'd likely be open to a reunion with Bill Belichick, and he'd presumably love to quarterback his hometown Bears. Short of that, Garoppolo has little incentive to approve any trade that doesn't work for him in the short term and the long term.
There's a long way to go in this story, clearly. Each day might bring new reports. Giardi's reminder is a good one to heed as the 49ers and all potentially interested parties navigate the month of April.