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The 49ers reportedly baffled Bill Belichick by asking if the Patriots would trade Tom Brady

What about the lad Cantona?

THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ers landed Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade with the New England Patriots recently, but from the sounds of it, they would have been okay with either Patriots quarterback.

According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, when 49ers GM John Lynch called Bill Belichick and the Patriots about Garoppolo, they were initially rebuked by the Patriots, who didn’t want to give up on Garoppolo.

But Lynch tried another route. According to Glazer, Lynch then asked about Tom Brady, much to Belichick’s amusement.

“John Lynch, he’s been trying to get Garoppolo since the offseason, he calls Bill Belichick, and he says, ‘Hey, we’d like to trade for Garoppolo,’” Glazer said. “And at the time, Belichick said, ‘Absolutely not, he’s completely off-limits.’

“Lynch calls back and actually asks Bill Belichick, ‘Alright, so if Garoppolo’s off-limits, would you trade us Tom Brady?’ And Belichick says, ‘What did you just ask me? … Did you just ask me if I would trade Tom Brady?’”

Suffice to say, the answer was no.

In Lynch’s defense, the question might have been worth asking. The Patriots reportedly viewed Garoppolo as their future franchise quarterback after Brady. Though Brady hasn’t shown signs of slowing down at 40 years old, perhaps the Patriots would have been willing to talk return packages for Brady if it meant securing a future with Garoppolo.

The reverse could be argued, too. The Patriots had a decision to make with Garoppolo entering his prime and wanting to play and Brady still chugging along. The Patriots chose Brady.

Farewell Andrea Pirlo, football’s last artist in an era of athletes

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