The New England Patriots have Tom Brady currently suspended for the first four games of the season and that puts Jimmy Garoppolo in the spotlight and he has been getting first teams reps in camp and likely will be the starter in Week 1 after the team signed Matt Flynn earlier in the offseason.
According to Pro Football Talk, Garoppolo has had the chance to take the majority of first team reps in practice along with Brady and on Wednesday night he got a full look. Garoppolo was taken in the second round of the draft last year and that likely means that Bill Belichick has confidence in his future. Clearly Tom Brady is not going anywhere and based on this set up, Garoppolo is likely going to start for the Patriots if Brady can't play and Matt Flynn will serve as the backup.
Mike Reiss of ESPN.com watched the workout and reported that Garoppolo was uneven and that he had a "mixed night" while completing "about half of his passes." It's still early in training camp and Garoppolo could get more work with the first team and more experience in the preseason. Brady is fighting his suspension in federal court against the league and depending on how that plays out, Brady could end up getting the chance to play in the first four games of the season.
Garoppolo comes in after throwing 27 passes last season for 182 yards on 19 completions and one touchdown and if Brady is out, he will get plenty more work this year. ESPN.com reports that Garoppolo got 33 pass attempts in the training camp session, while Tom Brady had just five and the team could continue doing things like this for a stretch to give Garoppolo the reps he needs to feel comfortable as the starter. While the Pats may struggle with Brady out, the team is good enough to win games without him and going 2-2 during the four games he is out would not be so bad.
Garoppolo reportedly has been looking better than he did last season in offseason workouts, as Jeff Darlington reported that the QB showed "more command" of the offense. Garoppolo had 618 yards passing last year in the preseason and completed nearly 60 percent of his passes while throwing five touchdowns and one interception. Having a solid rushing game should help Garoppolo and he will have to start off without LeGarrette Blount, as he has also been suspended for the start of the season after an off field incident. Last season Blount rushed for 547 yards and 10 touchdowns and he likely will be the starter once he returns.
Check here for more on the Patriots training camp and more on Garoppolo.
