Rarely does a trade ever go down at the NFL Trade Deadline that makes the collective jaw of football fans drop, but that is now reality. On Monday night, the New England Patriots traded quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for San Francisco's 2018 second-round draft pick. ESPN's Adam Schefter first broke word of the deal.
It's certainly a shock, especially after New England repeatedly denied trade rumors that surrounded Garoppolo's name during the offseason. But now that it's official, the ripple effect will be felt in numerous ways.
It all starts in San Francisco, where head coach Kyle Shanahan finally lands the quarterback who he can coach up and hopefully mold into the 49ers next franchise quarterback. The 25-year-old should arrive at San Francisco's facilities tomorrow and the work will immediately begin then.
From a short-term outlook, it will likely take a few weeks before Shanahan is even ready to start Garoppolo. Shanahan's offense is complex and a young quarterback will be challenged to pick it up so quickly. So C.J. Beathard should have another game or two to add film to his resume, but his days as San Francisco's quarterback will soon be over.
In Garropolo, San Francisco lands a former second-round pick who spent the past two and a half seasons learning from some of the greatest football minds we've ever seen. Denver sports radio host Benjamin Allbright reported that during Shanahan's tenure in Cleveland, Garoppolo ranked as one of his two favorite quarterbacks in the 2014 NFL Draft class. Cleveland went in another direction, but now Shanahan lands his target.
Garoppolo received lofty comparisons over the past year, with some suggesting he is the next Tom Brady and will become one of the NFL's best quarterbacks rather quickly. While that hype is excessive and speaks more of a team seeking to build up a trade chip, the 49ers are still landing a massive upgrade at the quarterback position.
We saw flashes of high-end play from Garoppolo last season during Brady's suspension. While New England scaled back its offense in some ways to accommodate for the second-year quarterback at the time, he still completed 42 of 49 pass attempts for 496 passing yard, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Now he finds himself as the future commander of an offensive all orchestrated by one of the most innovative play callers in all of football.
From a fantasy perspective, the long-term impact from this is great news for Pierre Garcon, Carlos Hyde and Marquise Goodwin. Once Garoppolo settles in and gains an understanding for the offense, he'll provide a legitimate passing threat that opposing defenses must respect. That should open up some holes for Hyde in the passing game and Garoppolo's accuracy should also help Hyde to catch passes out of the backfield, as last week showed Beathard couldn't even make accurate passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.
Naturally, Garcon and Goodwin will benefit for the same reasons. Garcon came to Atlanta to play a prominent role in the passing attack with heavy volume and showed frequently he can make big plays and serve as a reliable target. Now he and Goodwin, an excellent deep threat, have a legitimate quarterback who can put the ball in spots where they have the opportunity to catch it.
Garoppolo, an impending free agent, should have a lengthy leash in San Francisco with the new coaching staff. While there is no word on a potential contract extension or future franchise tag, the 49ers are projected to have the most cap room in the NFL next offseason. Given the weakness of the 2018 quarterback class, San Francisco's sacrifice of a second-round pick is easily worth it for the potential reward of a young quarterback who can lead Shanahan's offense.
New England also cashes in with this trade. The Patriots would have been forced to either place the $22 million franchise tag on him this offseason, sign him to an expensive attention or risk losing him in free agency. With Brady committed to playing quarterback for New England beyond the 2017 season, the choice became easy for the Patriots.
While the return might not have met the rumors of multiple first-round picks and day-two picks that drove the rumor mill leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, this should be counted as an outstanding return.
In addition to freeing up the franchise tag, which the Patriots could now apply to impending free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler, New England adds a potential top-35 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. That kind of ammunition heading into Tuesday, will offer the Patriots the option to explore a potential trade for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, look at other playmakers available or just have another top pick in next year's draft.
Brady remains in the MVP conversation every year and shows no signs of slowing down even now into his 40s. As for his backup, New England could look towards Brian Hoyer who San Francisco released following the acquisition of Garoppolo.
It sounds cliché, but this is a win-win trade for both sides. San Francisco lands its potential franchise quarterback and New England unloads an expendable trade chip for an even more valuable asset they can use in a variety of ways.