Back in mid-July, when former NFL quarterback David Carr, who spent four seasons with the New York Giants (2008-09, 2011-12), said on television that his old team could be eyeing a trade for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the idea seemed to come out of left field.
Now that Giants training camp has opened, at least one member of the local media thinks Jimmy G could be a real possibility for the G-men.
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On Friday, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News published a story — titled “No stretch to envision Giants trying Tyrod Taylor (or Jimmy G) if offense doesn’t wake up” — which detailed the team’s offensive struggles through the first three days of training camp. The story suggested that Daniel Jones is not playing well enough at practice, and that either Taylor or Garoppolo would be a better option at starting quarterback for the Giants.
Leonard’s New York Daily News story did not cite any inside sources on an impeding quarterback change, and it contained just three words worth of direct quotes from Giants head coach Brian Daboll. This is noteworthy because the very next day, Leonard and Daboll found themselves in a somewhat contentious exchange.
During a media session on Saturday, Leonard pressed Daboll on his “tolerance” for the Giants’ struggles on offense. Below is a video of the exchange followed by a transcription, via Giants Daily on Twitter.
Brian Daboll vs “reporter”
(Watch Daboll’s full press conference by clicking here.)
LEONARD: How much tolerance do you have for inefficiency or lack of production on offense. Like, at what point of the preseason do you go from, “It’s okay to make mistakes” to “This needs to look better than this.”
DABOLL: In what regard, Pat?
LEONARD: Like, completing passes —
DABOLL: Like in practice, 3rd-and-6-to-9? Or a full first down, second down? Or just a game?
LEONARD: Well, I have three practices to base it off of. But, you know… completing passes, succeeding and executing the plays that are called.
DABOLL: Well, it’s not tolerance. That’s what a coach does. You go out there, you try to perform. You go out there and you have 30 snaps of a variety of blitzes, different looks. There’s so many different things that happened yesterday. Like, a lot of really good things. Hots, breaking off routes. Were there some miscommunications? Absolutely. I mean, some of those guys, it’s their first time in this offense where they’re practicing with Daniel. It’s their third practice. So, we’re kinda day-by-day, get better each day. Have a positive mindset, and correct the things you gotta correct. And that’s coaching. At least that’s the way I’ve learned to coach the last few years.
LEONARD: So, you view it as a larger-term evaluation of how the offense is functioning?
DABOLL: Yeah, we’re in Day 3 without any pads on. So, I mean, we got a long time to evaluate here.
This is not the first time this particular reporter has clashed with the new regime.
Kadarius Toney Trade Rumor Now Sounds a Lot Like Hot Air
Back in the spring, Pat Leonard reported for the New York Daily News that the Giants were looking to trade 2021 first-round wide receiver Kadarius Toney. A week later, Leonard clashed with Giants general manager Joe Schoen during a press conference, yielding Schoen’s infamous “Reflect on what I just said” retort.
Skip to the 3:30 mark in this video if you want to re-watch that moment.
Months later, Toney is still in the fold and even has his music playing during warmups at Giants training camp. Toney addressed the trade rumors during a press conference over the weekend, stating that he “never reacted” to the original report.
Does Jimmy G Even Make Sense For Giants?
The Jimmy Garoppolo rumor is strange because trading for him wouldn’t solve New York’s problems at quarterback. His $27 million cap hit in 2022 (per Spotrac), for example, seems like an immediate deal-breaker, as Giants GM Joe Schoen recently confirmed that the team is less than $5 million under the salary cap, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
Garoppolo is not as athletic as Jones, nor is he more durable. The Giants may not be married to Jones beyond this season, but it’s tough to justify trading for a more expensive veteran who may not even be an upgrade.
Despite all of this, the Giants remain a betting favorite to land Garoppolo in a trade.
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Giants’ Brian Daboll Clashes With Reporter as Jimmy Garoppolo Rumor Spreads