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Jones: Why Are The Patriots Trying To Trade Malcolm Butler And Not Jimmy Garoppolo?

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots appear to be finalizing a trade that will send Malcolm Butler to the Saints. They'd likely get back the No. 32 overall pick in April's NFL Draft that they initially traded for Saints receiver Brandin Cooks.

But 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones wonders why it's Butler getting traded and not someone else - namely, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Jones and Nick Cattles discussed the latest on the Butler situation on Thursday night, focusing on the question of why it's the restricted free-agent cornerback who has to be the one to replenish the Patriots' draft picks in a trade and not Garoppolo. Though it appears that the Patriots are determined to hold onto Garoppolo, Jones still isn't convinced he's good enough to be the next Patriots starting quarterback. And if the Patriots want to win now, Jones believes they should trade the player who would be on the bench all next season over the one who would play almost every snap for the defense.

"The guy who should be getting moved to recoup all these draft picks and replenish that draft pool should be Jimmy Garoppolo," said Jones. "As a reminder, he doesn't play. He's going to be standing there holding a clipboard with a headset, behind Tom Brady. Assuming everything goes well - there's no cheating suspension in the offing, there's no injury for Tom Brady in the offing - [Garoppolo's] not going to play a meaningful snap all season long.

"Call me crazy, that's the guy I would trade. ... And I would keep Malcolm Butler."


SEE ALSO- Mazz: Why Did It Come To This With Malcolm Butler?


Jones' position on Butler and Garoppolo is predicated on the idea that Brady's backup remains a relative unknown, despite flashing high-end ability in his limited time on the field.

"We know Bill Belichick feels strongly about [Garoppolo] and that's a good indication for him, it really is. But we don't know if he can play at this level," said Jones. "We've seen it for six quarters, and we saw it at a really high level for a quarter-and-a-half.

"So we don't even know that he can play. We know Malcolm Butler can. You might get more for Jimmy Garoppolo than you would for Malcolm Butler. And yet, the Patriots are apparently hell-bent on moving on from Malcolm Butler."

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