As the Patriots prepare for their seventh straight AFC title game, there are significant questions about quarterback Tom Brady’s right hand. There are no questions about the identity of his right-hand man.
Brian Hoyer would play if Brady can’t, because Jimmy Garoppolo is long gone.
The ability to land Hoyer was a key part of the team’s in-season willingness to trade Garoppolo, since the Patriots needed someone who could play at an acceptable level if Brady can’t. Faced with the possibility that the Patriots will need Hoyer, it’s fair to ask whether they wish they had Garoppolo.
They’d never admit it if they do. Coach Bill Belichick never looks back; he always trudges forward. And he ultimately chose to trudge forward with Hoyer instead of Garoppolo, because Belichick saw no way to keep Brady and Garoppolo beyond the end of the current season.
The reality is that, if Brady can’t play on Sunday, the chances the season will end without a Super Bowl berth are considerably greater than they would have been, if they’d kept Garoppolo.
None of this matters if Brady is able to play and plays at a high level. But the Patriots aren’t going to volunteer that information. Indeed, if Brady weren’t able to play, this is exactly how the Patriots would be playing it, two days in advance.