The No. 1 privilege a press pass gives you is access to go to people and say, "Help me understand . . . ?" The job is to then pass on to you what I learned. Hopefully, you say, "Ohhh, now I get it."
When it comes to the Patriots trading Jimmy Garoppolo to the Niners for a second-round pick, it's clear most people still don't get it. That's okay. I really don't get it either.
Bill Belichick distills his decision-making process into a simple phrase: "Just doing what's best for the football team." And that usually means maximizing value. Flipping Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second-round pick without putting a For Sale sign on him isn't maximizing value. Here are the caveats offered.
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Garoppolo -- with his expiring contract -- is a rental for the Niners and could sign anywhere else at the end of the year unless San Fran franchises him. He wasn't completely gifted to the Niners. There is risk and cost involved for them. But they have guaranteed access to his services and it feels now like a second-round pick for those services seems light.
Also, Garoppolo was Lombardi insurance. The 2017 Patriots are the Super Bowl favorites. Say they had traded Garoppolo in April and then Tom Brady had gotten hurt in August, leaving the team in the hands of Jacoby Brissett. A Lombardi -- the reason these teams play -- would have been kicked away all for a couple of extra draft picks. So they hung on to Garoppolo as long as they could.
And then they were stuck.
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