The Patriots only have one option

Why Bill Belichick shouldn't give up on Tom Brady just yet

Tom Brady.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Adam Glanzman/Getty Images, Miodrag Kitanovic/iStock)

If the press isn't already burying New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, imagine what will happen if Jimmy Garoppolo leads the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl. Garoppolo was once Brady's backup and understudy. He filled in admirably during Brady's 2016 Deflategate suspension. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick only reluctantly traded him away amid (officially denied) reports that team owner Robert Kraft intervened to protect the franchise star.

A 49ers win this weekend would cement the narrative that Belichick should have ignored Kraft and traded Brady instead. Even if Garoppolo falls short to the Green Bay Packers (led by Aaron Rodgers, who knows something about dethroning aging veteran quarterbacks who happen to be franchise legends), he is playing in the NFC Championship Game. Brady isn't playing in the AFC title bout for the first time since the 2010 season and didn't even suit up in the divisional round for the first time in a decade.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
W. James Antle III

W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.