Betting Experts Declare Bears Are This Likely To Land Jimmy Garoppolo

By now most Chicago Bears fans have caught wind of the rumor that GM Ryan Pace might be preparing a full court press to land Jimmy Garoppolo. After watching Tom Brady win his fifth Super Bowl, it seems clearer than ever he has no plans to retire anytime soon. Thus the New England Patriots have a free opening to deal the 25-year old backup before his contract expires after the 2017 season. It shouldn't be a surprise. The team spent a second round pick on him back in 2014. They no doubt would like to get some value out of him before he inevitably leaves in free agency to find a starting job elsewhere. It's a matter of whether they are willing to risk sticking with Brady for a another few years (he turns 40 this year). The good news for them is it looks like there may be a number of teams interested in a possible deal for Garoppolo. As always it will come down to fit, price and the wild card of what the player himself wants. Don't forget he would almost certainly have to agree to an immediate contract extension upon completion of the deal. With that in mind, who has the edge?

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It is that very question that prominent sports betting website SportsLine.com chose to tackle in one of their recent articles. A subsidiary of CBS that covers Vegas oddsmakers and projects likeliest probabilities for multiple sports, they took on the Garoppolo question using their advanced models. In the end it came up with a set of rankings that were a bit of a shock just based on the order. https://twitter.com/Eric_Edholm/status/829042035931881473

CHICAGO BEARS +150 (risk $100 to win $150): CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reports the Bears will make "a strong, concerted effort" to acquire Garoppolo and that the Illinois native is "far and away their top offseason priority." The efficient Garoppolo would be a major upgrade over Jay Cutler or Matt Barkley. According to the SportsLine Projection Model, the Bears' win total would jump 22 percent if they started Garoppolo over Cutler. Chicago would be expected to win 6.5 games (compared to 5.3) and have an 11 percent shot at the playoffs.

EASY MONEY?

It's not a shock that the Bears are a top destination on the board for Garoppolo. The fit makes a ton of sense. He's an Illinois-native who grew up watching that team. His style of play fits the type of offense that Dowell Loggains runs and he has ties to Ryan Pace as well. Both going to Eastern Illinois University. The surprise is more from how highly they're favored. Keep this in mind. Both the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers may be less desired destination for the player himself, but they're also better equipped to make a move for him. They not only hold higher pick position in this draft, but also a greater quantity of picks. Cleveland has five in the first three rounds alone including the #1 pick and the #12 pick. The 49ers will have 10 total picks. In other words the Bears will likely have to give up a significant package of picks to land him or they'd have to get lucky and have the other two teams not be interested enough to drive the price up. Neither scenario sounds overly appetizing at this point in time. Nonetheless it's nice to know that Chicago has favorable odds in their corner.