Coming off of their epic Super Bowl comeback, the New England Patriots are in an excellent position.Not only are they currently at the top of the football world, but they also have the best quarterback situation in the league.Tom Brady, coming off of one of his best statistical seasons at the ripe age of 39-years-old, has shown no signs of slowing up and is arguably the best in the NFL right now.His backup, Jimmy Garoppolo also opened some eyes when he filled in for Brady while he was serving his suspension at the beginning of the season.Since Brady’s longevity is not being called into question and that Garoppolo is only under contract for one more year on his rookie deal, there have been many rumors swirling about where the Patriots will trade the backup.Will the Cleveland Browns give up one of their first-round picks for Garoppolo? What about the other quarterback-needy clubs?If the Patriots want to leverage the backup at the peak of his value, now’s the time to do it when they can receive maximum value in return.However, according to Will Brinson of CBS Sports, there’s a possibility that the Patriots hold onto Garoppolo for the 2017 season.“It’s entirely possible New England felt out the market and realized there isn’t a substantial enough amount of interest for the backup quarterback. The upside of trading away Garappolo would be an early second-round pick (surely the Browns aren’t giving up No. 12 for him), which would be great for New England," Brinson noted. "The Patriots would be making out pretty well in that deal if they drafted Jimmy G late in the second, groomed him for three years and then parlayed the backup into a top-40 pick.”He went on, “That’s a good draft pick. But there’s also the possibility of keeping Garoppolo around, keeping him paid, tell him the job is his after Brady leaves or trading him under the terms of a new contract. The Patriots have a weird ability to work voodoo magic on NFL players who want to stay within the system.”ESPN NFL insider Ed Werder also doesn’t think the Patriots will part ways with the backup quarterback.

As we have seen in the past, having a ready and able backup is necessary for every NFL powerhouse. While the Patriots will run the risk of losing Garoppolo after next season (which will most likely happen via free agency), they have to decide as a franchise whether or not a draft pick or two is more important than having a viable replacement for Tom Brady if he were to get injured.

It’s a good problem to have if you’re the Patriots.