Despite what his Instagram account might have indicated, Jimmy Garoppolo remains a member of the New England Patriots.
Early Friday morning a message was posted to Garoppolo's Instagram account indicating his time in New England was over: "So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston."
The post was later deleted.
Although it's common for NFL players to say goodbye to fans on their social media accounts, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday on Good Morning Football that the post wasn't a product of Garoppolo being traded.
"Here's what went down: I talked to a Browns source, talked to a Patriots source, talked to someone close to Jimmy Garoppolo; there's nothing," Rapoport said. "There's been no trade talks between the Patriots and the Browns. As far as the people close to Jimmy Garoppolo know, he's not going anywhere. They blamed it on either a hoax or a hack, depending on what your definition of either of those things are. So all of us woke up at 4:30 in the morning just to wake up at 4:30 in the morning."
Don Yee, Garoppolo's agent, later told Rapoport that the quarterback's Instagram account was indeed hacked.
Garoppolo's name has been the center of trade rumors for weeks, most notably with the Cleveland Browns, who Rapoport reported on Thursday were intending "to make a run" atTom Brady's backup in New England. Though Rapoport reported early Friday morning shortly after Garoppolo's post that, "at this point, there have been no trade talks with the Browns."
Rapoport added that the Browns could wait until just before the draft to make a more serious run at Garoppolo.
Garoppolo started three games for the Patriots last season, posting a 113.3 quarterback rating.
