The New England Patriots will likely entertain trade offers for backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, and they may wind up getting a phone call from the Houston Texans.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle speculates that the Texans are one of the teams in need of a quarterback that could be interested in acquiring Garoppolo. The problem, of course, is that the Patriots are likely to place a high price tag on the 25-year-old. And Garoppolo would cost a team like Houston even more because of the seemingly atrocious contract Brock Osweiler signed less than a year ago.
Garoppolo is still playing under his rookie deal and has a base salary of just over $820,000 for 2017. Osweiler, on the other hand, signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Texans last offseason and is due $16 million guaranteed for next season alone. Considering Osweiler was arguably the worst quarterback in the NFL this season, no team is going to trade for him. That means the Texans would either have to release him and take a major salary cap hit or pay him starter money to sit on the bench in 2017 if they bring in Garoppolo.
Based on the reports we have heard about what the Patriots want for Garoppolo, a trade may be unlikely. Although Tom Brady is showing no signs of slowing down, New England may want to keep Garoppolo around for another season to see what happens if a team doesn’t offer a huge package for the former Eastern Illinois star. And as for the Texans — well, they may be stuck hoping 2016 was a fluke for their own overpaid signal-caller.
