The New England Patriots are about to find out if Jimmy Garoppolo is destined to be an NFL starter or remain a backup until the franchise opts to trade him like they did Ryan Mallett. When Garoppolo was drafted, he was viewed as the next quarterback to take over the Tom Brady throne and now he will get a chance to prove he can handle it while doubt surrounds the first four games of New England's upcoming season.
Until further notice, Brady is suspended for the first four games of the NBA season and Garoppolo will be the starter. According to the Boston Herald, the second-year pro will be the starter unless New England makes another move. He has only been seen briefly on the field, but does have a regular-season touchdown to his name. Owner Robert Kraft told the media that the Patriots really have no idea what kind of player they have in Garopoolo at the moment.
"My gut feeling is the same as yours," Kraft said, via Peter King's MMQB.com. "He is a very hard worker, a very fine young man, but until the bullets are flying and you're out there, no one knows. Think about how many of these first-round picks, even, don't make it. (Garoppolo was the team's second-round pick in 2014.) He works hard and he studies hard, though. Deep down, I would hope that's an academic question."
Coordinators and coaches for the Patriots have all expressed confidence in what Garoppolo can do for New England in those four games. They have to be confident because he is the team's only option. The Patriots could easily try and sign Michael Vick or Matt Flynn, but they are not starters in this league anymore. New England could call about trade deals for Mike Glennon and Kirk Cousins, but that would require giving up more draft picks than they already have.
Kraft is more focused on fighting the suspension than working around it. According to ESPN.com, Brady has already filed his appeal to the league and Kraft confirmed that the team would fight the suspension, confiscated draft picks and fines as he believes the NFL ruling of 'Deflategate' was simply unfair.
"This whole thing has been very disturbing," Kraft said, via TheMMQB.com. "I'm still thinking things out very carefully. But when you work for something your whole life. I just get really worked up. To receive the harshest penalty in league history is just not fair. The anger and frustration with this process, to me, it wasn't fair. If we're giving all the power to the NFL and the office of the commissioner, this is something that can happen to all 32 teams. We need to have fair and balanced investigating and reporting. But in this [Wells] report, every inference went against us ... inferences from ambiguous, circumstantial evidence all went against us. That's the thing that really bothers me."