SmashMouth

New Orleans Saints fans might want to scout Jimmy Garoppolo in the preseason opener against the New England Patriots on Thursday night.

He might be their starting quarterback next year.

Yes, it's a long shot. No better than a 1 percent chance of happening. But the idea is not quite as far-fetched as it might seem at first blush.

The Patriots' backup will likely be starting for some NFL team other than New England in 2017. He's under contract with New England through next season, but the club is expected to entertain trade offers for the third-year quarterback in the offseason. Barring injury, Garoppolo will start the first four games of the Patriots' upcoming season because of Tom Brady's suspension for Deflate-gate.



But don't expect the Patriots to fall off much with Garoppolo under center. They remain one of the most complete teams in the NFL and have more than enough firepower to withstand the loss of Brady. This is a team that won 11 games with Matt Cassell in 2008. They -- and Garoppolo -- will be fine.

The stint, meanwhile, will amount to a quarter-season audition for Garoppolo.

As the Boston Herald reported last week, "Assuming (Garoppolo) maintains a high level of production in Weeks 1-4, the Patriots should get calls from every quarterback-needy team in the league in the offseason. Considering the QB epidemic around the league and the price the Rams and Eagles paid to move up in April's draft, the Pats could turn Garoppolo into a serious collection of assets."

And if the Saints don't agree on a long-term deal with Drew Brees, they will almost certainly be among Garoppolo's most ardent suitors.

The Saints actually targeted Garoppolo in the mid rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft before New England selected the Eastern Illinois product in Round 2.

A fellow Eastern Illinois graduate, Saints coach Sean Payton closely followed Garoppolo's collegiate career and said Tuesday the Saints graded him highly as a prospect.

"He's bright," Payton said. "He had a lot of success in college. His teams there were successful. And he was able to really have good production. I think he has good arm strength and a quick release. Sometimes it's tough, because so many of these college offenses are spread out and throwing it on every down. I thought we had a high grade on him and obviously New England and I'm sure a number of teams did."

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