Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo enters the game before Ryan Mallett
Last week, Ryan Mallett got the start for the New England Patriots.
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The Patriots decided to give Tom Brady and several other offensive starters, like their leading wide receiver, Julian Edelman, the night off. Although Mallett has been at the center of several trade rumors and some believe he can be a starting NFL quarterback, he really hasn’t given teams reason to think that way. He’s thrown just four career passes and has only completed one for 17 yards. In the Patriots’ 23-6 loss to the Washington Redskins last week, it was the same old story for Mallett. He looked solid on deep throws but struggled in the short and intermediate game. Mallett finished the game going just five-of-12 for 55 yards.
The Patriots selected former Eastern Illinois Panthers’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with the 62nd-overall pick in the second round of this year’s draft. He came into the game in relief of Mallett and performed much better. Garoppolo finished eight-of-12 for 142 yards and a touchdown.
There were rumors that Garoppolo may have passed Mallett on the depth chart but those rumors were shot down. However, in Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Garoppolo was the first off of the bench. Brady returned to action and played two series. He threw an interception, which was returned 77 yards for a touchdown by Eagles’ cornerback Cary Williams on the first but rebounded by finding Kenbrell Thompkins for a 15-yard touchdown. That’s when Garoppolo entered the game. He led the Patriots on a four-play, 28-yard drive after an Eagles fumble, capped by a 15-yard touchdown to H-back James Develin.
With Garoppolo getting to play with 1’s and Mallett on the bench, you have to wonder if Garoppolo really is passing Mallett by.