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- The San Francisco 49ers landed Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade with the New England Patriots in October.
- Bill Belichick initially turned down offer for Garoppolo, so the 49ers asked if Tom Brady was available.
- Bill Belichick reportedly shut down the question in amusing fashion.
The San Francisco 49ers landed Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade with the New England Patriots in October, but from the sounds of it, they would have been okay with either Patriots quarterback.
According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, when 49ers GM John Lynch called Bill Belichick and the Patriots about Garoppolo, they were initially rebuked by the Patriots, who didn't want to give up on Garoppolo.
But Lynch tried another route. According to Glazer, Lynch then asked about Tom Brady, much to Belichick's amusement.
"John Lynch, he's being trying to get Garoppolo since the offseason, he calls Bill Belichick, and he says, 'Hey, we'd like to trade for Garoppolo,'" Glazer said. "And at the time, Belichick said, 'Absolutely not, he's completely off-limits.'
"Lynch calls back and actually asks Bill Belichick, 'Alright, so if Garoppolo's off-limits, would you trade us Tom Brady?' And Belichick says, 'What did you just ask me? ... Did you just ask me if I would trade Tom Brady?'"
Suffice to say, the answer was no.
In Lynch's defense, the question might have been worth asking. The Patriots reportedly viewed Garoppolo as their future franchise quarterback after Brady. Though Brady hasn't shown signs of slowing down at 40 years old, perhaps the Patriots would have been willing to talk return packages for Brady if it meant securing a future with Garoppolo.
The reverse could be argued, too. The Patriots had a decision to make with Garoppolo entering his prime and wanting to play and Brady still chugging along. The Patriots chose Brady.
Watch Glazer's report below:
John Lynch is a legend for trying to trade for Tom Brady 😂
- FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 5, 2017
(via @JayGlazer) https://t.co/sggaVkeLOx