Former New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett gives the scoop on why the Patriots likely traded away Jimmy Garoppolo.
For the famously tight-lipped New England Patriots, there’s not a whole lot of drama emerging from their locker room mid-season. It’s in the years after that turbulent situations and hurt feelings come to light, like the entire fallout that fueled Tom Brady’s departure from Foxborough.
But sometimes the stories coming out of the New England vault are hilarious, like the infamous prank war of the 2000s. Or, if you’re anyone but Jimmy Garoppolo, the reason Martellus Bennett gave for Garoppolo’s last-minute benching in Week 4 of 2016.
This week, the former Patriots tight end made headlines for sharing his perspective on Garoppolo’s decision not to play through a shoulder injury in Week 4. Garoppolo suffered a shoulder/AC joint sprain in Week 2 that forced him to exit the game early, but he backed out of the starting gig right before kickoff in Week 4.
Instead, third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett stepped up to the plate despite a thumb injury and endured 16-0 shutout loss to the Buffalo Bills. Bennett was impressed with Brissett’s toughness, but not with what he perceived as Garoppolo’s weakness in opting out.
“You can’t win with a b***h for a quarterback,” Bennett said on the Double Coverage podcast hosted by longtime Patriots Devin and Jason McCourty. All the McCourty Twins could do while Bennett ranted about Garoppolo was laugh and shake their heads, an indication that Bennett wasn’t necessarily alone in his opinion.
Martellus Bennet and Jimmy Garoppolo: Did the 49ers lose out to the Patriots?
Bennett’s perspective on Garoppolo is particularly interesting, given the unique quarterback history between the Patriots and the 49ers. Garoppolo, who has been struggling with injury once again in 2021, makes what Bennett has to say a persisting problem. While his Patriots teammates may have lost respect for a lack of Garoppolo’s “mental toughness”, Garoppolo has become problematic for the 49ers as he struggles to remain healthy.
After sitting for three years behind former New England Patriot Tom Brady, Garoppolo was reluctantly traded to the 49ers by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Belichick, who saw Garoppolo as the future of the Patriots franchise, shipped him to San Francisco in 2017 and kept Brady instead.
It was a move that worked out better for the Patriots, as Brady went on to win the team’s sixth Super Bowl in 2018 before leaving for an improved situation in Tampa Bay. Now, the Patriots are led by rookie Mac Jones, who is rumored to be the rookie quarterback Kyle Shanahan wanted all along.
The 49ers have seen their share of success since landing Garoppolo, such as a thrilling Super Bowl appearance following the 2019 season. Still, Garoppolo hasn’t proven to be the dependable franchise quarterback Shanahan hoped for, which is why the 49ers traded up for the costly Lance with the No. 3 overall pick.
If it were up to Bennett in San Francisco, Jimmy G may have been passed over a long time ago.
