New Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo Mar 17, 2023; Henderson, NV, USA; New Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo speaks to the media at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Not much is known about the personal relationship between Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo while the pair was in New England together.

As many know, Garoppolo was Brady’s backup in New England for a while, even leading the Patriots to a winning record when Brady was out due to an injury.

Jimmy G’s success in New England led to him being traded to the San Francisco 49ers., where he led the team to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance.

Garoppolo’s time in San Francisco came to an end last week when he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.

At his introductory press conference on Friday, Garoppolo told reporters how he first met Brady. He said that the eventual Hall-of-Famer walked in on a meeting between him and then-Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who is now the Raiders’ head coach.

“I don’t know if it was planned, but I swear he planned it — Tom Brady walked in,” Garoppolo said. “And I thought it would throw me off a little bit because I had never met him before, and a little starstruck. But yeah, he walked out, and Josh kept going with the teaching. That was our first interaction.”

Garoppolo said that despite rumors to the contrary, he and Brady always got along.

“We always had a great relationship. Tom’s a great dude.”

“He was awesome! he said. Everything he did, I never tried to be too much of a pest and ask too many questions. But just watching him from afar, how he went about his business, how he handled off the field things on the field, whatever it was, he always did it the right way. He gave me a good example when I was young.”

{Paul Gutierrez}

About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.