A former Browns and Patriots executive is talking up the possibility that the Browns and Patriots will make a trade for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the offseason.
Mike Lombardi, a longtime friend and colleague of Patriots coach Bill Belichick who also served as G.M. of the Browns in 2013, said on FS1 that he thinks the trade would make sense for both teams.
“The next quarterback that’ll be the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback perhaps is Jimmy Garoppolo in New England,” Lombardi said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “I think Cleveland understands, [coach] Hue Jackson specifically understands he needs a quarterback. I think they’ll be very aggressive. I think Jimmy Garoppolo’s on top of their list, and I think they’ll go hard after him.”
Lombardi didn’t work with the current brass in Cleveland, and when he was last with the Patriots Garoppolo had never started a regular-season game, so he may not have a lot of insight into the teams’ current thinking about Garoppolo’s worth. The trade could make sense, though. The Browns still need to find a franchise quarterback, and most draft analysts don’t think there’s a franchise quarterback available in the 2017 NFL draft. And the Patriots, who are set at quarterback with Tom Brady, may think that there’s no reason not to acquire something of value for Garoppolo.
Garoppolo is under contract next year at just $820,000 before hitting free agency in 2018. That means the Patriots are under no salary cap pressure to trade him and can drive a hard bargain. The Browns, with two first-round picks and two second-round picks in the 2017 NFL draft, may be the team best suited to putting together a package that would pry Garoppolo out of New England.