Belichick: 49ers get good quarterback, Garoppolo gets good coach

Share

New England coach Bill Belichick on Tuesday described what he believes will be a good mutual fit for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers under coach Kyle Shanahan.

The Patriots on Tuesday morning finalized the trade that sends Garoppolo to the 49ers in exchange for the 49ers’ second-round pick in the 2018 draft. Garoppolo was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jimmy,” Belichick said during his opening comments Tuesday to the Boston-area media. “I couldn’t ask for him to give us any more than he’s given us. The 49ers are getting a good player, and they’re getting a good person, and they’re getting a great teammate, and they’re getting a good quarterback.

“Jimmy is getting a good coach. His career is moving forward. He’s a talented individual – was a great person to coach.”

The Patriots selected Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 draft with the No. 62 overall selection. He started two games last season and played well when Tom Brady served a suspension to open the season.

The Patriots were in the position of knowing they were going to lose Garoppolo to a starting opportunity in the offseason. So they completed the deal with the 49ers as the trade deadline approached. This was the last opportunity for the Patriots to receive direct compensation in exchange for Garoppolo.

“As his career moves forward, we have to look to our team, both this year and beyond, and that’s a consideration we have to make,” Belichick said. “We probably had, in my opinion, the best quarterback situation in the league for the last – let’s call it 2 ½ years.

“It’s just not sustainable given the way that things are set up. It’s definitely not something that we wanted to walk away from, and I felt like we rode it out as long as we could.”

Contact Us