In 2014, the New England Patriots believed they had found Tom Brady’s successor in Jimmy Garoppolo.
The young quarterback arrived with plenty of hype, and his promising performances in limited action fueled optimism about the team’s future.
However, midway through the 2017 season, the Patriots traded Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, marking the end of his time in New England.
Fast forward seven years, and Garoppolo is now a backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. On Sunday, he will return to Gillette Stadium, where his NFL journey began.
Reflecting on his return, Garoppolo shared his thoughts: “It will be cool seeing the whole crowd and everything, cool seeing the stadium be packed out,” he said, via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. “There’s a lot of good people there.”
He also praised Patriots fans for their passion and honesty, noting those traits are part of what makes Boston “a good sports town.”
As for how he expects the crowd to react? Garoppolo remained uncertain: “So we’ll see. Hopefully it’s all good and everything, but they booed Tom Brady when he came back, so you never know.”
In all likelihood, Garoppolo won’t see playing time, leaving Patriots fans with little reason to cheer or boo their former quarterback.
Garoppolo’s career has been a mixed bag. He led the 49ers to a Super Bowl during the 2019-20 season but was often labeled a system quarterback. After six years in San Francisco, he joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. His time there was forgettable, marked by a disappointing season and a two-game suspension in 2024 for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.
The Raiders released him after the season, and he signed with the Rams, where the now 33-year-old seems destined to spend the remainder of his career as a backup.
