For the first time since being traded to the San Francisco 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo will return to Foxboro on Sunday to face Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

After spending three and a half seasons as a backup to Tom Brady in New England, Garropolo was moved to San Francisco midway through the 2017 season in exchange for the Niners’ second-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft. So who did the Patriots ultimately get in return? Well, that gets a little tricky.

As he likes to do, Bill Belichick parlayed that one second-round pick into numerous draft picks via trades and ultimately ended up with eight players as a result of the Jimmy Garoppolo trade.

How many games did Jimmy Garoppolo start for the Patriots?

After four seasons at Eastern Illinois, the same small school for whom Tony Romo played his college ball, Jimmy Garoppolo was taken in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft and was looked at as the heir apparent to Tom Brady.

Garoppolo appeared in 11 games for the Pats over his first two seasons, completing 20 of 31 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. When Brady was suspended for the first games of the 2016 season due to the Deflategate scandal, Bill Belichick named Jimmy G the starter and Garropolo performed quite well. In two starts, he completed 42 of 59 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns against zero interceptions. However, he was knocked out of the second game with a shoulder injury and never started another game for New England.

Why did the Pats trade Jimmy G?

During the NFL offseason in 2017, Jimmy Garoppolo was at the center of numerous trade rumors but Bill Belichick and the Patriots refused to move him. Despite still having Tom Brady, Belichick liked having Garoppolo on the roster and refused any offer that was made.

However, while Belichick obviously has a lot of say in personnel decisions, he didn’t get his way when it came to Jimmy Garoppolo. Robert Kraft made the decision to trade Jimmy G to the San Francisco 49ers and Belichick simply had to live with it. ESPN reported that Belichick was “furious” and “demoralized” over the deal as he still saw Garropolo as the future face of the franchise.

But Bill Belichick isn’t one to dwell and he took the second-round pick the Patriots received from the 49ers and turned it into eight players.

Who did the Patriots get for Jimmy Garropolo?

So who exactly did the Patriots get as a result of the Jimmy Garoppolo trade with the 49ers? Here’s a quick breakdown of the players that ended up being a part of the deal.

• Duke Dawson, CB: Dawson was drafted out of Florida in the second round in 2018 but never played an official game for the Patriots. He was traded to Denver in 2019 for a sixth-round pick in 2020.
• Christian Sam, LB: Sam was drafted in the sixth round in 2018 and never suited up for the Pats. He’s been on the practice squad for the Dolphins, 49ers, and Lions but has never played in an NFL game.
• Joejuan Williams, CB: Williams was taken in the second round in 2019 and splits his time between defense and special teams.
• Damien Harris, RB: Harris was taken in the third round in 2019 and is quickly becoming a threat in the Patriots’ backfield.
• Yodny Cajuste, OT: Cajuste was also taken in the third round in 2019 but has yet to play a game for the Patriots.
• Jarrett Stidham, QB: Stidham was taken in the fourth round in 2019 and is currently the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind Cam Newton.
• Dalton Keene, TE: Keene was taken in the third round of the 2020 draft but hasn’t yet suited up for the Patriots this season.
• Justin Herron, OT: Herron was taken in the sixth round of the 2020 draft and has already started a couple of games for New England this season.

Another interesting note is that once the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, they released Brian Hoyer, who immediately signed with the Patriots, his second stint with the team. Hoyer played the 2019 season with the Colts but is now back in New England for a third run.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference