New England Patriots deal Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco 49ers

The saga of how former New England Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo will depart the team is now over.

As the NFL trade deadline hovers over the league, the Patriots traded their former QB of the future for a 2018 second-round draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

This move changes a lot of things for a lot of people. The 49ers were expected to be players for the services of Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins when he hits free agency in the offseason. That is obviously no longer the case.

In Garoppolo, San Francisco has a young general that can sling the ball with accuracy and discipline. During his time with New England, he was a strong stand-in for Tom Brady during his four-game suspension in 2016.

Before his injury, according to Pro Football Reference, he started three games and put together three wins, 496 passing yards and four touchdowns. Since being drafted in 2014 out of Eastern Illinois, he has been a consistent piece of trade bait after turning heads each year in preseason. This offseason, his name was consistently mentioned in the same breath as the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have a long history with Patriots HC/GM Bill Belichick. Belichick coached that franchise prior to landing in New England and has done deals with them in the past. It was a situation that made so much sense that it shocked plenty of people when it didn’t come to fruition.

Now, the 49ers have the luxury of working with the face of their franchise down the stretch of a losing campaign.

At 0-8, they can only go up from here. If Garoppolo can continue to grow under the tutelage of offensive genius Kyle Shanahan, he can become one of the next players to be thrown into the elite players’ pool.