Sydney Guiliano ‘18
Contributing Writer
Ask any Patriots fan and they will tell you that there’s only one quarterback (QB) they need in their lives and that his name is Tom Brady. The sixth-round draft pick has led the team to five super bowl wins (the most rings collected by any quarterback) and for the last 18 seasons has been the cornerstone to the Patriots’ franchise.
As Patriots fans, we pray for our luck, that his throwing arm will never give out but we know he is not invincible. A fact constantly reminded by our rivals who tell us over and over again in a chorus of “he’s getting old” and “what will you do once Brady’s gone?” We politely tell them to shut their mouths and hope they do not notice how we hold our breaths when he takes the occasional hit.
Yet, last Monday the Patriots traded their only backup quarterback at the time, Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers.
You would think the 2016 season taught New England the importance of backup QBs. Last season, the team had to rely heavily on both their second and third string QBs, Garoppolo and Brissett, following Brady’s four-game suspension for the infamous deflate-gate scandal. The team had traded Brissett to the Colts in September leaving Garoppolo the sole heir to Brady’s position.
Therefore, this Monday left fans in panic, believing the Patriots to be moving forward with a 40-year-old Tom Brady and no backup in case of injury or to train for retirement. According to sbnation.com, the Patriots had tried to retain Garoppolo, but with free-agency right around the corner and plenty of teams looking to snatch up what may prove to be the second best QB in the league, they did they best they could.
By signing Garoppolo to the 49ers they give over a highly respected player to a team who truly needs him, while retaining some of the value they put into developing such a player. In an interview with The New York Times, Head Coach Bill Belichick remarks that although they were not in an ideal quarterback situation, “It’s just not sustainable given the way that things are set up.”
The state of the team remained up in the air until last Wednesday when New England picked up Brian Hoyer of San Francisco 49ers. Originally a Patriot, Hoyer spent his first three seasons with New England before being released in August of 2012. On the Patriots’ website, they cite Hoyer with 119 out of 205 completed passes in the first six games of the 2017 season and 1,245 yards with four touchdowns for the 49ers, not bad but still only backup material, for now.
Ultimately, the Patriots have found a new backup quarterback on their bench to begin training while Garoppolo gets the opportunity to stretch his legs and start in a few more games, finally able to showcase the talent that got him the position of backup GOAT.
What this means for Patriots fans like me is that despite the menacing whispers of rival fans and their premonitions of retirement and injury, the Patriots plan on having Brady around for at least a few more years.
There is no way the team would have made this risky of a trade without first being assured that there are still a couple super-bowls left in Tom Brady. So be prepared NFL because your favorite neighborhood obnoxious Patriots fans won’t be hitting the bench anytime soon.
