The Facts: The Browns reportedly will make a run at Garoppolo. (The fallback may be Kirk Cousins.) The Patriots, based on who you believe, will listen -- or they won't. Their standoffishness comes either from an effort to maximize the trade offer or from a genuine desire to keep Garoppolo around. As one high level employee of an AFC team recently told PFT, there's a persistent belief within league circles that the Patriots truly want to keep Garoppolo.

Diehards Line:As PFT's Mike Florio explained, the Patriots realize Tom Brady won't be around forever. As things stand now, the Patriots will have Garoppolo under contract for the balance of 2017 and, via the availability of the franchise tag, beyond. In addition, as Scott Zolak from the Patriots Radio Network suggested on PFT Live in the aftermath of Super Bowl LI, the thinking is that Brady’s magic number is three more years with a caveat — if he wins one more Super Bowl, he may very well walk away. If that happens this year, the Patriots need to have Garoppolo around. And finally: Jacoby Brissett may not be the answer. There’s a feeling that the Patriots drafted Brissett at the very strong urging of his mentor, Bill Parcells, and that coach Bill Belichick has decided after a year of working with Brissett that he won’t become a true franchise quarterback. So there's ample reason to keep Garoppolo. And they almost certainly will.