Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots players wondered whether they could depend on Jimmy Garoppolo?

The speculation surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo will likely never end. Although the San Francisco 49ers have said they will not trade the quarterback, many are convinced he'll somehow, someway wind up with the New England Patriots, who drafted him in 2014. 

It was reported earlier this month that Garoppolo is Bill Belichick's "Plan A" at quarterback this offseason. However, some of New England's players might not be as high on Garoppolo as Belichick is. 

According to former Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins, some players wondered whether or not they could depend on Garoppolo when he spent time with the franchise from 2014-16. 

"My sources here tell me, and I didn't really want to say this, but they used to look at Jimmy G. a little sideways," Wiggins said. "Like, he was kind of a little bit Mr. Glass. And I am not talking about the Sam Jackson character, where they were like, 'Can't really depend on him. Can't stay on the field.'"

He added: "Between the lines they looked at him like, 'Can we really count on this dude?'"

Due to injury, Garoppolo missed Weeks 3 and 4 of the 2016 season, which was the same time Tom Brady was suspended four games for Deflategate. Now that he's in San Francisco, the QB has missed 23 games due to injury. 

It's not surprising some players don't view Garoppolo as a reliable quarterback. He's frequently injured, which might be why San Francisco opted to trade up to nab the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft to select a quarterback. 

NFL teams reportedly believe the Niners moved up to select Alabama's Mac Jones, who could be ready to start as soon as the 2022 season. 

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