In an instagram post early Friday morning, New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said a goodbye to the city of Boston.
“So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston,” the message on Garoppolo’s verified instagram account read.
The clear indication is that Garoppolo won’t be a Patriots quarterback much longer. Next stop Cleveland?
The Browns have been furiously pushing for a trade of Garoppolo in recent weeks. The Patriots have been hesitant to consider moving the backup to Tom Brady and possibly future starter in New England in the post-Brady era. Nevertheless, the Browns have continued to express their interest in trading for Garoppolo despite his making just two total starts in three seasons in New England.
With Cleveland acquiring an additional 2018 second-round pick from Houston in exchange for being a vehicle for the Texans salary dump of quarterback Brock Osweiler, the Browns may finally have sufficient draft capital to coax the Patriots into accepting a trade. With 11 draft picks stockpiled in each of the next two drafts, if Cleveland doesn’t have enough picks to get a deal done no one does.
If you take it at face value, Garoppolo’s instragram post obviously hints he’ll be playing elsewhere in 2017. Where that would be is still unknown but Cleveland is the most likely destination.
UPDATE 5:46 a.m. ET: The post appears to be a hoax.