Jimmy Garoppolo Believed He Could Compete Against Tom Brady For Patriots' Starting QB Job
Professional athletes are usually three things: competitive, attentive and confident. So, naturally, when current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played for the Patriots, he made sure to absorb everything he could from legend Tom Brady. However, Garapollo didn't look at himself as No. 2, rather, he took it upon himself to challenge for the starting spot and prove to Brady he was every bit as good as him.
Garoppolo, 26, spoke of his relationship with Brady at length to Bleacher Report's Joon Lee, saying: "We got along, but there were always times where we wanted to kill each other."
Garoppolo said he knew he could be a starter in the NFL by the end of his first season and was confident enough to think he would eventually pass Brady on the depth chart.
“I’ve always had that mindset,” he said. “I knew that [Brady] was better than me in my first day in the NFL. Naturally, you’re the rookie and he’s the veteran, but you have to have that mindset, that you want to be the starter.”
“Even when I was a little kid, my brothers, whenever we would play, I would literally always think I was going to win. I wouldn’t, but I would always think that. It’s like when I go to New England, when I first got there, I thought in my head, ‘I’m better than this dude.’”
Garoppolo never did beat out Brady on the depth chart and was traded to the 49ers last October. Garoppolo started five games last season for the 49ers and finished the year with 1,560 passing yards and seven touchdowns.
