Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots most efficient passer, played well in limited time this season — well enough to warrant some serious trade speculation, and well enough to make the case for him as the heir to Tom Brady’s throne.

Here’s what ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter are reporting about Garoppolo’s future in New England.

The Patriots will want a lot, as will the Bengals. And just last week, one person close to the Patriots said he would be “stunned” if New England traded Garoppolo. The interest from other teams will be there, but so will the interest to retain him to try to ensure a successful transition from Brady to Garoppolo.

So maybe Garoppolo will not be available. But if this season has proved nothing else, it’s that you don’t always find quarterbacks in the most obvious places. Some of this season’s top passers were neither top draft picks nor free-agent prizes.

As mentioned in the above excerpts, the market has been set at a premium for quarterback trades in the past year, and Garoppolo may warrant a similar payout. Despite the interest, Garoppolo may be in New England to stay.

The other quarterbacks generating a great deal of interest are the Bengals’ A.J. McCarron and the Buccaneers’ Mike Glennon.

Both McCarron and Garoppolo are under contract until 2017. When filling in for an injured Andy Dalton in 2015, the McCarron held up well, throwing for 854 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions with 97.1 passer rating and 66.4 completion percentage. In his one playoff appearance of 2015, he was a bit shaky, completing 23 of 41 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Steelers. He also had three fumbles in the game, one lost.

Garoppolo has a smaller sample size than McCarron, but greater success with his time under center; in 2016, the former 2nd rounder completed 42 of 60 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions, which equals out to passer rating of 117.1 and a completion percentage of 70.

By the numbers, Garoppolo is more efficient, but sits right in the small sample size sweet spot that Matt Flynn once sat in.

http://patriotswire.usatoday.com/201...tom-brady-era/