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Friday, December 22, 2023

Did Tom Brady Bolt to Buccaneers Because Jimmy Garoppolo Was Traded to 49ers?

Garoppolo left the Patriots, who were originally set to release him when his contract expires in March. That’s a move that might have convinced Brady to leave as well.

The “why did tom brady leave the patriots” is a question that has been asked for quite some time. It seems like Tom Brady left the Patriots because Jimmy Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers.

On the eve of the NFC Championship Game, with Jimmy Garoppolo’s San Francisco 49ers preparing to face the Los Angeles Rams, it seems almost right that Tom Brady would be dominating the headlines.

Since the New England Patriots selected Garoppolo as Brady’s anticipated replacement in 2014, the two quarterbacks have been connected.

Instead, the Patriots sent Garoppolo to the 49ers late in the 2017 season after almost four seasons as Brady’s backup. He is now one victory away from reaching his second Super Bowl in three years.

That move, though, did more than offer Jimmy G a new lease on life. It also expedited Brady’s exit from the Patriots, sending the perhaps greatest quarterback of all time on his way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where his 22-year career looked to be coming to an end on Saturday.

On Saturday, Brady’s retirement was enormous news… until it wasn’t.

Jimmy Garoppolo's trade in 2017 led to Tom Brady's departure in 2019

Jimmy Garoppolo's trade in 2017 led to Tom Brady's departure in 2019 Don Juan Moore/Getty Images Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo

Brady announced his retirement from the NFL on Saturday in a tweet through his health and fitness organization, TB12 Sports. The tweet was shortly followed by another from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who confirmed Brady’s decision to retire.

However, as the day progressed, the initial TB12 Sports tweet was removed, and both Brady’s father and agent said that nothing had been determined. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians later stated that Brady had told the club that he had not made up his mind.

It all seemed to be an attempt to backtrack on the early tweets and rumors, allowing Brady to recover the news cycle and make the announcement on his own terms, similar to what Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did on Thursday.

The transfer of Garoppolo to the 49ers created a rift in the relationship between coach and owner.

“They had been business partners for a long time. It’s one of the reasons Bill Belichick has been so successful throughout his career. Keeping the personal and professional relationships apart.”

Seth Wickersham joins Jim Rome to discuss the relationship between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. pic.twitter.com/LexYVfUGkQ

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 24, 2020

The timing of Saturday’s revelation, though, put the attention back on the 2017 deal that sent Garoppolo to San Francisco in return for a second-round selection, no matter how premature it was. New England was taken aback by the deal, despite the fact that Garoppolo’s rookie contract was about to expire, and he would be a free agency shortly.

Brady’s declared intention to play well into his 40s resulted in the trade, which sparked a power struggle inside the organization. While Patriots owner Bob Kraft supported Brady’s wish to remain and play for many more years, coach Bill Belichick looked ready to broker the transfer of authority from Brady to Garoppolo, a player he wanted teaching.

According to a 2018 story by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, Kraft demanded that Belichick move Garoppolo in order to preserve Brady as the undisputed starter and team captain. Belichick, enraged by his owner’s choice, did deal Garoppolo, but not to the highest bidder. Instead, Belichick traded his best student to the 49ers, where he felt Jimmy G would thrive and excel, for pennies on the dollar; in this instance, a second-round selection.

The fraying of relationships among Brady, Belichick, and Kraft sealed Brady’s fate with his head coach, leading to Brady turning down a chance to stay with the Patriots after becoming an unrestricted free agent after the 2019 season. Patriots fans were stunned and perplexed, and it became clear that whatever short-term happiness Brady derived from having his successor sent 3,000 miles away was short-lived.

Garoppolo has a shot to succeed. To keep the Brady-Jimmy G Super Bowl run alive, they must win on Sunday.

Jimmy Garoppolo has outplayed Stafford, Prescott, and Rodgers while injured in three consecutive elimination games, with the NFC Championship on the line next.

Full tape and analytics breakdown. Watch/subscribe: https://t.co/4QQQhsTboP pic.twitter.com/O5BaxjYQ02

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 27, 2022

Garoppolo led the 49ers to their first Super Bowl in 15 years during the same 2019 season that Brady played his farewell game with the Patriots. Brady traveled to his last Super Bowl as a first-year member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following season, defeating the same Kansas City Chiefs who had beaten Garoppolo’s 49ers the year before.

The Rams delayed a potential Brady-Garoppolo duel in the 2021 NFC Championship Game last weekend in the Divisional Round when Brady almost completed a comeback from a 27-3 deficit in the second half. Now, the Rams have a chance to deny Garoppolo his second Super Bowl appearance in three years and put an end to Brady or Jimmy G’s six-year Super Bowl run.

What about this, though? But, win or lose on Sunday, a new level of excitement might emerge. Could Garoppolo move from being estranged from Brady to taking over as Brady’s replacement in Tampa?

Pro Football Reference provided the statistics.

RELATED: What the Numbers Say About Tom Brady’s 10 Super Bowls

The “when did tom brady join the patriots” is a question that has been asked for a while. The Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, which led many people to believe that Tom Brady was going to leave New England and sign with Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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