Acquiring quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots for just a second-round draft pick, may go down as one of the better trades in the history of Bay Area sports. Baffling on it’s surface, some answers were provided last week via Seth Wickersham of ESPN, who reported in a bombshell piece that head coach Bill Belichick was forced to trade Garoppolo by owner Robert Kraft, and chose to send him to San Francisco for a reasonable price because of his respect for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Apparently, Belichick’s desire to see Garoppolo succeeded outweighed his typical desire to make the best deal, and a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Monday reveals that there were definitely better offers to be had. According to reporter Terry Pluto, now-fired Browns general manager Sashi Brown “was willing to part with Houston’s first-round pick and other goodies,” for Garoppolo. That would have been the No. 4 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Interestingly the Patriots never made a call to Cleveland, and instead made their only call to the 49ers, receiving a draft pick that will end up in the 40s for what looks like a franchise quarterback. A league source told Pro Football Talk, that part of the reason Belichick didn’t call the Browns was that he wanted Garoppolo out of the AFC.
The fact that Belichick respects Garoppolo so much that he didn’t want him in the same conference, and was willing to take less for him because of how much he likes him, can only be good signs for the 49ers.