The New England Patriots definitely don’t need a quarterback heading into the offseason. Drake Maye has taken care of that for them.
However, it may benefit the Patriots to land a veteran backup, especially considering that Jacoby Brissett seems bound to depart via free agency.
But who could New England find for that role? Well, Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Pulpit actually feels that a reunion with Jimmy Garoppolo could be in store for the Patriots.
“Could Jimmy G return to Foxboro to resume his old backup role? It seems possible given that a) his days as a starter are probably over, and b) his connection with Josh McDaniels,” Buchmasser wrote. “The 33-year-old could be a mentor for Drake Maye and Joe Milton, who comes with vast experience working alongside McDaniels: he did so both in New England (2014-17) and Las Vegas (2023).”
Garoppolo was originally selected by New England in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft and was initially viewed as Tom Brady’s successor.
However, the Stanford product lasted just three-and-a-half seasons with the Pats before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in October 2017.
The rest of Garoppolo’s story is well-documented, as he actually led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance during the 2019-20 campaign but then fell flat over his final three seasons in San Francisco. He landed with the Raiders in 2023, but lost his starting job to Aidan O’Connell.
Garoppolo then joined the Los Angeles Rams last year, serving as Matthew Stafford’s backup.
Having a veteran on the roster definitely makes sense, even though he would surely be the third option behind Maye and Milton. That being said, the Patriots could trade Milton this offseason, which would open the door for Garoppolo to be the primary backup.