Jimmy Garoppolo Trade Rumors: Patriots 'Are Not Pursuing' Deal for 49ers QB

Jimmy Garoppolo may be on the move, but he isn't going back to the New England Patriots, according to ESPN's Jordan Schultz. 

Schultz reported the Patriots "are not pursuing" the quarterback, having re-signed Cam Newton to a one-year deal this offseason. 

The San Francisco 49ers put themselves in a position Friday to move on from Garoppolo after the team traded up for the third overall selection in this year's draft, one that has plenty of QBs expected to go near the top.

Various reports out of New England had indicated that the lack of a trade stemmed from San Francisco's side. Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal said in a radio appearance that the Patriots decided to move on after San Francisco wouldn't engage in trade talks (h/t Dakota Randall of NESN). 

Before the Patriots re-signed Newton, Bedard had reported that acquiring Garoppolo was the team's "plan A" at quarterback (h/t Connor Roche of Boston.com). 

San Francisco general manager John Lynch acknowledged in February that the 49ers "probably have to add someone" to backup Garoppolo, who has been marred by injuries and missed 23 starts dating back to 2018 (h/t Matt Barrows of The Athletic).

But trading up to No. 3 in the draft gives San Francisco the opportunity to select a quarterback who should be ready to slot in as a starter immediately.

Teams at the top of the draft will have their pick of a number of NFL-ready signal-callers. Assuming Trevor Lawrence goes at No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, that still leaves BYU's Zach Wilson, North Dakota State's Trey Lance, Ohio State's Justin Fields and Alabama's Mac Jones.