After a strong opening to the 2016 season as a replacement starter for a suspended Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, the New England Patriots' second-round pick in the 2014 draft, suffered a shoulder injury late in his second game.
Instead of seeking treatment with Patriots team trainers, Garoppolo would set up a visit at the TB12 Sports Therapy Center and with Brady's personal trainer Alex Guerrero, as many of the Patriots' most notable and successful players would do, according to a report from ESPN's Seth Wickersham:
"After Garoppolo was knocked out of his second start because of a shoulder injury, he set up a visit at TB12. As he later told Patriots staffers, when he arrived, the door was locked. He knocked; nobody was there. He called TB12 trainers but nobody answered. He couldn't believe it, Garoppolo told the staffers, and that night ended up visiting team trainers instead. Guerrero vehemently denies ever refusing to see any player, and Garoppolo was eventually treated at TB12 -- but it was two weeks after he showed up for his original appointment, and only after a high-ranking Patriots staffer called TB12 to inquire why Garoppolo hadn't been admitted."
It was neither the first nor last rift between Brady, Guerrero, and the rest of the Patriots.
When wide receiver Julian Edelman suffered a knee injury a month before the start of the 2017 regular season, there was "hypersensitivity" among other players over who would assume his spot on the depth chart, a Patriots coach said to Wickersham.
New players would try earning Brady's trust and approval by following suit of Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, and others who would get attention from Guerrero and the TB12 center. Head coach Bill Belichick would prefer players get treated by team doctors.
Several sources told Wickersham players felt trapped between risking their relationship with either the head coach or starting quarterback, having to discuss whether to follow Brady's preferences or those of the team.
