Another interesting tidbit was revealed yesterday courtesy of the new book, "It's Better to Be Feared," by ESPN's Seth Wickersham. The reporter's colleague, Matt Miller, tweeted out that, per the book, the New England Patriots were very interested in reacquiring San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on Day 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Wickersham reports, via Miller, that the Patriots were willing to surrender a second-round pick in exchange for Garoppolo. Now, the 49ers had long been set on drafting Garoppolo's successor, Trey Lance, and had repeatedly stated that Garoppolo remained in their plans for 2021. However, the team would not ignore any intriguing offers for their veteran quarterback.
In March, following the trade to move up to the No. 3 overall pick, general manager John Lynch told NFL Network's Steve Wyche that San Francisco would "absolutely" entertain offers for Garoppolo and had already spoken with potentially interested teams. Naturally, we have to assume one of those teams was the Patriots.
Wickersham wrote that the 49ers were not interested in the Patriots' offer and sought a first-round pick for Garoppolo. New England held onto their first-round selection and used it to draft Mac Jones.
In @SethWickersham's book, he reports that the Patriots called the 49ers asking about Jimmy Garoppolo's trade value on Day 1 of the draft. New England reportedly offered a 2nd; San Francisco wanted a 1st
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) October 27, 2021
Today, head coach Kyle Shanahan debunked the report while speaking with the media. He was asked if there was any truth to Wickersham's claims.
"No. None," Shanahan responded. "I'd also like to not keep answering questions about a book. I promise if that was the case, I would have talked to their head coach."
