When talking with the media this week, Kyle Shanahan shot down a question from a reporter that the 49ers refused a 2021 second-round pick from the Patriots for Jimmy Garoppolo.
ESPN’s Seth Wickersham authored the book “It’s Better to Be Feared” which was the source of the passage being passed around Twitter this week regarding the Pats and Niners. Wickersham joined 95.7 The Game's “Damon & Ratto” to clarify any misconceptions about his reporting. Listen to the full interview below:
“I used the words in the book, ‘an informal conversation,’ between the 49ers and the Patriots about what the price might be,” Wickersham told Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto. “And that was all it was. At the end of the day, maybe if Mac Jones hadn’t had been available, the Patriots might have approached the 49ers with an actual offer.”
Wickersham also recalled some details of the 49ers-Patriots trade in 2018 that sent Garoppolo to the Bay Area, saying Bill Belichick made an effort to connect with Shanahan.
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“He didn’t really try to create a market for Jimmy Garoppolo,” Wickersham said. “As I reported in 2018, Kyle Shanahan got a text from Belichick the day before the trade deadline. Kyle thought that it was Belichick offering a ‘pick me up’ after a tough loss. But when they finally connected, it was that he was offering Jimmy straight up for a second-rounder. The 49ers deliberated and they decided to do it. Obviously, that’s changed, that’s had a dramatic effect on the 49ers organization.”
Garoppolo is set to start Sunday against the Chicago Bears and rookie Trey Lance will back him up, as he returns to game action for the first time since injuring his knee in Week 5.
