Why do NFL teams keep trading for unproven backup quarterbacks? Reports are surfacing that several teams are interested in Jimmy Garoppolo.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We’re experiencing that very ideology in the NFL.Due to the scarcity of good quarterbacks in the league, teams do crazy things. There are certain tiers of quarterback in this league and very few are elite quarterbacks.
The ultimate line of contention is between what’s a good quarterback and what’s a great quarterback. Those decisions have cost countless organizations millions of dollars.
Teams seem to gravitate towards “glimpses of brilliance”. Insert Brock Osweiler, who started seven games. Apparently, 1,900-plus yards and a 10:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio screamed a $70 million contract extension.
We’ve all seen how that has worked out. Despite the fact that there is a long laundry list of backup quarterbacks who signed either for big money or who were involved in a big trade.
Kevin Kolb, for example, spent four years in Philadelphia. Ironically, he also had seven starts before being traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick. Kolb was a bust who never amounted to anything before retiring due to concussion issues.
The next name that’s going to be on this bust list is Jimmy Garoppolo. This guy has two starts. Two. Garoppolo has thrown 94 passes in his illustrious career, yet he is apparently the hot quarterback to have in the 2017 offseason.
The smoke thickens… https://t.co/njMUl49ErO
— Ken Carman (@KenCarman) February 1, 2017
Report: #Bears plan to make trading for Jimmy Garoppolo top offseason priority — https://t.co/9SQarQGMW4#BearsTalk pic.twitter.com/lNhuWGy1la
— NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) February 2, 2017
The theme on the national radio scene is suggesting that Garoppolo is worth a first round pick. The Chicago Bears hold the third overall pick, while the Cleveland Browns hold (first and 12th overall).
Please, for the love of all sanctity, don’t give the Patriots a first round pick for an unproven commodity. This guy has shown virtually nothing and because of the scarcity of the market, suddenly, for no apparent reason. his stock has shot through the roof.
The argument really comes down to this: would you rather have an inexperienced rookie (Deshone Kizer, Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky) or a backup quarterback who has been around and in theory would be a plug and play kind of guy?
That’s a false narrative. The true value of a one-year rental in Garoppolo should be a mid-round pick at best. Despite that reality, someone is going to invest in the Matt Flynn project again, although that never really worked out.
Garoppolo, mind you, isn’t even Matt Flynn. Flynn had the game of his life, ironically, ahead of free agency. Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns. Garoppolo has had no such performance in his career, yet he’ll be paid as if he had — not to mention he’s entering the last year of his deal.
If he has a middling year or an average year or even gets injured, the team stuck with the kid would be forced to make a rash decision. If you jump the gun and invest a first round pick in Garoppolo, you’re attached to him. There’s no way you can sell to the fans that oh well that trade didn’t pan out. You’ll remain married to him until he proves he’s unworthy and by that point, you’ll be without a job in the front office.
Look at the Washington Redskins. They’re paying an average quarterback “top-five” money, according to the new CBA rules on the franchise tag.
Why? Scarcity at the position.
So before your team just hands over the evil empire priceless draft picks, buyer beware. You know when the little voice in your head says why are the Patriots so willing to trade away their future at the position?
Yes, that should provide teams some hesitation before pulling the trigger. Hopefully, this article prevents a natural disaster and if it doesn’t, I told you so.
