Tom Brady seems pleased Jimmy Garoppolo is getting a chance to be a starting quarterback in San Francisco, but it appears he's not quite sure what the move means for the New England Patriots' quarterback room moving forward.
"Well, I don't know what that means," Brady told Westwood One's Jim Gray when asked if the Patriots consider him the team's QB of the future. "This is a week-to-week league. Things change so quickly from week to week, year to year. Everyone is concerned, in my mind, this is all about this season and us trying to win ... I'm focused on this season and and I'm sure everyone else in the organization is focused."
Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers on Monday in exchange for a 2018 second-round draft pick, a source involved with the deal told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. The trade could give the 49ers for a viable solution at quarterback for the first time since Colin Kaepernick era in San Francisco. For the Patriots, it appears the team is indeed confident Brady doesn't need an immediate heir apparent, that he indeed has multiple seasons left in him -- that the playing until 45 talk isn't just that.
Still, by trading Jacoby Brissett to the Indianapolis Colts just before the start of the season and now Garoppolo, is Brady surprised with how things have developed?
"Well, this is the time of the year where we have been a part of a lot of trades, our team has, over the years," Brady said. "Now, again, as players we try to show up to work every day doing the best we can do and a lot of other things take care of themselves. When other teams want good players whether it's coming to our team or leaving our team, those are the type of opportunities that present themselves. They come up. Like I said, Jimmy has been a great teammate and a great friend and he always will be. I want nothing but the very best for him."
Brady said he plans to meet with Patriots coaches this week and figure out what comes next since the team currently does not have a backup quarterback. As Rapoport reported, the 49ers have informed Brian Hoyer of his pending release, and a Foxborough return could potentially be in the cards for the 32-year-old signal-caller.
For Brady, the Patriots' future might not rest on Garoppolo's shoulders, but he won't forget the contributions he made over his three-plus seasons in New England.
"Jimmy was a great teammate and a great friend and he always will be," Brady told Gray. "I want nothing but the very best for him. He's earned the trust of his teammates and the respect of his teammates and that's all you can ask for as a player."
