The New England Patriots have been viewed as a logical fit for Jimmy Garoppolo should the San Francisco 49ers decide to move the quarterback, but apparently there is not going to be a trade between the two teams.
The Patriots are not pursuing a trade for Garoppolo, ESPN’s Jordan Schultz reports.
As Schultz notes, the Patriots do not currently have the salary cap space to take on Garoppolo’s contract. They entered the offseason with roughly $60 million in cap space, but they have chewed through most of that with their unprecedented free agent spending spree.
New England had roughly $12 million in cap space as of Sunday. Garoppolo’s base salary for 2021 is $24 million, and the Patriots will still need money to sign draft picks and make in-season moves.
Even if the Patriots were interested in bringing Garoppolo back, the 49ers insist they are not looking to trade him. The blockbuster draft pick swap they made indicates they are going to draft a quarterback, but they want to keep Garoppolo for now.
