NFL Notes: Jimmy Garoppolo, Panthers, Patriots, Texans

Jimmy Garoppolo

Former Patriots executive Mike Lombardi mentioned Wednesday on The Ringer podcast “The NFL Show” that there’s no way he would advise the Patriots to trade backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason.

“If I was in New England, I would be telling Belichick every day there’s no way we can trade him,” Lombardi said, via NESN.com. “I know you’ve got Brady. But Brady is 40 years old. We don’t know where that’s going. There’s no history that says Brady’s going to be great.”

According to Lombardi, Garoppolo is worth a “multitude of picks.”

“He’s worth a multitude of picks,” Lombardi said. “Which would be take the 12th and move down. Because the player you take at 12, I don’t think is going to be better than Jimmy Garoppolo. That’s my point.”

As for where he feels Garoppolo could end up, Lombardi says the 49ers make the most sense.

“I think the team he would end up on would be San Francisco, because I know for a fact that when I was in Cleveland for the little bit of time, then when I left and went to New England, Kyle Shanahan, whom we hired, came in, and he loved Garoppolo,” Lombardi said. “Loved him. I think he would have enough assets in San Francisco to make that work.

“Let’s face it: If you’re Kyle Shanahan, and you have six years at huge money — and by the way there’s no offset clause in your contract, which is significant in the NFL. Which means that if Kyle Shanahan gets fired in Year 2, he gets all of his money and can double dip, which is unheard of the NFL. You might as well use sustainable values and go for the long play.”

Panthers

• David Newton of ESPN makes the case for the Panthers keeping veteran RB Jonathan Stewart, despite other saying that he should be a cap casualty for Carolina this offseason.
• Newton mentions that Stewart’s solid pass-blocking helps his value to the team and could offset a decline in production.
• Releasing Stewart would free up $6.25 million of cap space for the Panthers, but Newton points out that the Panthers don’t need the cap room this offseason and they don’t have an obvious replacement for him on their roster.
• There is a great class of running backs coming into the NFL this year, so the Panthers could draft someone and keep Stewart to help the rookie with the transition before looking to move on next year.

Patriots

• Mike Freeman of B/R mentions that every indication from inside the Patriots is that HC Bill Belichick plans to stay on as the team’s head coach for “at least five more years.”
• Freeman’s sources added that Belichick wants to coach after Brady retires and believe he can still win without having one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

Texans

• Sarah Barshop mentions that Texans RT Derek Newton probably won’t play at all next season after suffering multiple patellar tendon tears last October.
• Brown has said that he’s “in great spirits” and is “doing everything he can to get back as quickly as possible.” However, he also acknowledged that he has “a long road ahead of him.”