San Francisco 49ers franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is not lacking confidence in himself. Fresh off signing a massive contract with the team, Garoppolo is about to embark on his first training camp in Santa Clara. He’s the face of the franchise. The potential face of the NFL moving forward.
All of this comes mere months after Garoppolo was dealt by the New England Patriots to San Francisco for a second-round pick last October. New England reluctantly moved on from the then impending free agent, putting Garoppolo in the best possible situation in the process.
For the first time, Garoppolo is opening up about his time as Tom Brady’s backup with the Patriots. And his confidence is oozing out in every way.
When Bleacher Report’s Joon Lee asked Garoppolo if the quarterback believes he’s better than Brady, the former small-school product responded in kind. “It was always a quiet confidence,” Garoppolo said. “I would never speak that.” When pressed further, Garoppolo gave us an inkling into his thought process. “Yeah, you believe in yourself,” he continued. “That’s the best way to put it.”
Garoppolo was then asked if he ever went up to Brady to tell the five-time Super Bowl champ that he’s better. His response was pretty intriguing.
“I’m not stupid. You have to pick your battles, but I had belief in myself that I could do certain things, and it’s always worked out pretty well,” the former Pats quarterback said. “It will always be in me, that drive that comes from my dad telling me that someone is always working harder, that I’m always in last place and I need to catch up to someone else.”
In order to be a successful quarterback in the NFL, there’s a certain level of confidence that’s needed. Some will call it an ego, others include that it’s what sets quarterbacks apart from the rest of the team. As Garoppolo noted, it’s a quiet confidence with him.
Garoppolo’s remarks make it clear that there was no way New England could have retained him as Tom Brady’s backup in free agency. It was an either or proposition. In the end, and after some internal strife, New England opted for Brady.
The interesting layer here, according to Lee, is that Cleveland actually offered New England multiple high-round picks for Garoppolo. It’s an offer that far outpaced what the Pats actually received from San Francisco. It was Bill Belichick’s way of putting his quarterback in the best position to succeed.
Either way, this in-depth story gives us more of an idea about what happened behind the scenes in New England and Garoppolo’s thought process when he was a member of the team.