Whoever becomes the next starting quarterback for the New England Patriots will face immense pressure.
Not only are Tom Brady’s six Super Bowl titles still fresh in the minds of Patriots fans, the future Hall of Famer operates the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attack. New England is also coming out of an unsurprising 7-9 season, with Cam Newton in charge.
So, as former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi explained on Wednesday at WEEI “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria”, a QB option might make more sense for New England: old friend Jimmy Garoppolo.
“That’s why I think it’s going to be so difficult and I think maybe (Garoppolo) is the way to go, because he’s been to New England before and played with Tom Brady and was at the stadium with all those tracks to look up to know and to know that he was part of it, ”said Bruschi, as transcribed by WEEI.com. “Any other quarterback, why do you want to follow Tom Brady? You will always be compared to successes and the past, and that will make the job difficult.
“It will make it a job where the guys will go, ‘I can’t live with it.’ I think the pressure is greater than ever in New England in terms of who the next defender will be. “
Garoppolo, chosen in the second round by New England in 2014, spent parts of four seasons with the Patriots before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers on Halloween 2017. He won two Super Bowl titles as a reserve for Brady.
There was a time when it looked like Garoppolo would be Brady’s successor in New England. Brady’s continued race for excellence has finally opened the door for Garoppolo to leave, however, and it is now unclear who will be the Patriots’ long-term response as a defender.
Newton faced difficulties in 2020 and is about to reach the free agency. And only Jarrett Stidham, a choice from the fourth round of 2019, and Jake Dolegala, an undeveloped 2019 free agent, are under contract for 2021.
“You better have some courage to get in here. I’ll tell you that now, ”said Bruschi on WEEI. “Because from day 1, it will be like, ‘OK, we are ready for a Super Bowl championship’, and they will have to deliver because that is what (Patriots fans) are used to here.
“I think Garoppolo knows that. I think Garoppolo might even say, ‘You know what, I can do this. I know how this is done. ‘For me, it may be the best option because of the pressure that the new guy will have. It will be a difficult, difficult task. “
The Patriots are almost certain to exploit the QB market in the off-season. The details of this research are much less certain, with free agency, negotiations and the 2021 NFL Draft, all possible ways for New England to find its next call sign.
Garoppolo is under contract with the Niners for 2021, so it is possible that he is not even available for the Patriots. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bill Belichick kick the 29-year-old’s tires for many of the reasons Bruschi described.
Miniature photo via David Butler II / USA TODAY Sports Images