Patriots

Morning sports update: Albert Breer explained why he thinks the Patriots didn’t pursue a Jimmy Garoppolo trade

"They believe they're competing for a championship this year."

Jimmy Garoppolo during the 49ers' win over the Patriots in 2020. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

By Hayden Bird

May 7, 2021

The Red Sox scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th on Thursday to defeat the Tigers, 12-9.

The Bruins dominated the Rangers, 4-0. Brad Marchand and David Krejci both contributed a pair of assists.

And the Celtics face the Bulls tonight at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the Revolution face Nashville SC at 1:30 p.m.

The post-draft report on the Patriots and Jimmy Garoppolo: With the NFL draft over, the Patriots have a new quarterback (in first-round pick Mac Jones). Beforehand, reports floated around for weeks that New England was considering a move to re-acquire Jimmy Garoppolo.

Ultimately, it appears the 29-year-old Garoppolo is staying with the 49ers. Asked about the pre-draft reports linking the Patriots and Garoppolo, NFL insider Albert Breer told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” why a trade never materialized.

“I looked into this last week, and I was told nothing was going on,” said Breer. “The [49ers] made the decision to go with Trey Lance, I believe, the timeline was Monday or Tuesday that [Kyle] Shanahan sat down and made the call to go with Lance.

“The decision to go with Trey Lance I think basically moved Jimmy Garoppolo further off the market,” Breer added. “I think at that point the 49ers knew, and Kyle knew, we probably have to at least preserve the ability to redshirt our rookie quarterback for a year, because it’s Trey Lance and not Mac Jones. I can’t imagine the 49ers would be going out there and actively trying to make a deal for Jimmy Garoppolo unless the compensation coming back was absolutely overwhelming. That’s what they’ve maintained the whole time.”

Additionally, Breer explained that the 49ers believe they can contend in 2021, and see Garoppolo as potentially the best option for a Super Bowl run even with the No. 3 overall pick on the roster.

“The reason why, again, is because they believe they’re competing for a championship this year.”

Trivia: Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t make his first start until 2016, but he did throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game as a rookie in 2014. Who caught that touchdown?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: It came during the famous “They’re not good anymore!” loss to the Chiefs, long after the outcome was decided in that particular game.

More from Boston.com:

A very early look at the 2022 NFL Draft:

On this day: In 2016, veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon did what may have seemed impossible. The 43-year-old clobbered a 1-1 fastball over the left field fence for a home run. It instantly became an iconic moment.

Colon’s first Major League at-bat had come in 1997, but it wasn’t until that day in 2016 amid a 6-3 victory over the Padres — in which Colon got the win, allowing three runs over 6.2 innings — that he connected on his first (and only) career home run.