Why Jimmy Garoppolo makes no sense for the Kansas City Chiefs
By Matt Conner
Consider what Tom Curran, Patriots writer for CSNNE, says about Garoppolo’s price tag:
“The Patriots right now need to be bowled over, otherwise they’re not going to move Jimmy Garoppolo. You’ve seen a lot of people hedging their bets nationally as to what the Patriots will do. We’ve seen a lot of people writing, “Don’t expect the Patriots to move Garropolo” or “I’d be surprised if Garoppolo lands somewhere else.” The truth of it is, nobody knows what’s going to happen until they know what the offers are…
“What the Patriots want is for someone to come to their front door, knock on it and say, “How much for your Garoppolo?” And then if it’s a first round pick, perhaps even the 12th overall pick from Cleveland, then I think they make a move … I do think somebody’s gonna blow their doors off.”
Belichick already has a second round pick invested in Garoppolo, so Curran is right that teams will have to pony up to trade for him. If they keep Garoppolo then there’s little reason to panic even if Brady begins to show signs of decline as he approaches 40 years of age. It’s the perfect scenario where the buyer has to be very serious — and the Chiefs just aren’t in that window.
If the Chiefs had tanked last season and failed to reach the playoffs with such a talented roster, then you would likely feel a greater sense of urgency from the front office and coaching staff. Instead the Chiefs have said all the right things about backing up Alex Smith this offseason. Those statements do not preclude them from bringing in some competition for the present and future, but it also likely reveals enough of their cards to safely say they’re not desperate.
As Curran notes, it’s not silly to think the cost would be a top 12 NFL Draft pick for Garoppolo. The Chiefs, then, would need to add another pick or two to their No. 27 overall pick to get him in house. They would also have to make room financially for Garoppolo for this year and the future. If they couldn’t trade Alex Smith, then releasing him would mean $10 million in deal cap space over the next two seasons. That doesn’t even include the mega-extension that Garoppolo would demand beginning next year.
Right now the Chiefs have the ability to bring in a bright young quarterback and let him develop at the ideal pace throughout 2017 before competing for the job the following season. At that point, Smith’s trade value should still be in place and releasing him would only cost $3 million in dead cap space. Having a rookie quarterback will help ease the salary cap situation as well. It simply makes too much sense to add quarterback competition through the draft rather than pay the exorbitant price to get Garoppolo.
Then again, all of this could come crashing down at any point given that John Dorsey has already proven that he’s not afraid to move considerable draft assets to get his quarterback. It’s possible he could do it again with Garoppolo. If so, it would be a shocking move that would go against the Chiefs’ current make-up and cap situation.