Boston media is wishing Jimmy Garoppolo was back with Patriots

Things must be getting pretty bad with Mac Jones and the Patriots, as the Boston media now hopes that Jimmy Garoppolo heads over there from the 49ers.

It’s hard to speculate whether or not quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is going to have an easy time landing with a new team once NFL free agency begins on March 15.

On the one hand, Garoppolo is a veteran signal-caller with plenty of playoff experience. Amid a market where there are likely to be plenty of teams seeking quarterbacks, perhaps Garoppolo is picked up quickly.

Or, in light of yet another season-ending injury suffered with the Niners last year, perhaps Jimmy G’s market trails off not unlike how it did a year ago amid all sorts of trade speculation.

Even crazier, perhaps he has a reunion with a former head coach and a former team.

At least that’s what one Boston-area sports writer is suggesting.

Boston Globe suggests Patriots bring back Jimmy Garoppolo after trading Mac Jones

While his rookie year might have been somewhat promising, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones didn’t exactly light things up in 2022. Part of it might have been due to a lackluster supporting cast.

However, according to recent reports, Jones angered head coach Bill Belichick at points this season, mainly with his sideline and locker-room demeanor.

Regardless of how true that might be, at least the thought of moving on from Jones is crossing the minds of the Boston-area media, including the Boston Globe’s Christopher Gasper, who is suggesting the Pats trade Jones and then bring back Garoppolo as a free agent.

Garoppolo, of course, backed up quarterback Tom Brady in New England from 2014 through the middle of 2017 before being traded to the Niners in that memorable blockbuster deal.

Gasper wrote:

"Garoppolo’s ability was overstated when he was Brady’s successor-in-waiting. Now, he’s being undersold.[Garoppolo] is the fully-formed version of Jones with a bit more playmaking ability and more charisma, which is important as Patriots ownership figures out how to repackage the team to the Foxborough Faithful. This team needs a rebranding because the product features too many defeats and too little buzz.A New England reunion with Garoppolo could be a chance for both sides to prove the doubters wrong. But, more importantly, the Patriots would be able to build a better team around their Top-15-type quarterback if they went this route. When the quarterback carousel stops this offseason, some team is going to be left without a desirable option. That will make Jones, still playing on a rookie contract, appealing."

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Belichick once tabbed Garoppolo as Brady’s heir apparent, and Gasper pointed that out, too.

Since the Pats have struggled mightily in finding an adequate follow-up to Brady (who wouldn’t?), a shift back to someone who at least existed in Brady’s shadow would help mend the post-Brady blues that still exist in New England.

That suggestion of a Garoppolo reunion with the Patriots is indicative of such.

As fantastical as it might seem, the Pats re-signing Garoppolo and trading Jones would be very Belichick-ian.