Much ado about a backup quarterback. During the week, one might have thought Jimmy Garoppolo was a rock star given the media attention he received.

Maybe someone in Foxborough knows he will hit that status one day. And perhaps that’s why the New England Patriots appear hellbent on keeping him.

But is Garoppolo really going to stay? Depends on which reports you’re inclined to believe.

One from the Cleveland Plain Dealer had the Browns offering up a first-round pick, No. 12 overall, to the Pats for Jimmy G, only the Pats didn’t blink.

Garoppolo has started just two games in three seasons. He was a second-round pick. And they said no thank you to a high first-round pick?

Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reported recently if the Pats were going to even entertain handing over Garoppolo, it would at least take a first- and second-rounder. And even then, it might not get the job done.

Then, there’s Adam Schefter of ESPN. If Schefter’s to be believed, the Patriots aren’t trading Garoppolo at any price. Period. End of story.

This is what an insistent Schefter, defending his report that Garoppolo is certain to be on the Patriots’ roster next season, said Friday: “He’s not getting traded. People keep saying it’s to drive up the price. It’s for ulterior motives. The facts are the facts. Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be on the Patriots. But people continue to talk about it … there was another person connected with the organization who said, ‘Does Cleveland realize we’re not trading him no matter how many picks it takes?’

“(I have) one person who said if they got four (No.) 1s, they wouldn’t trade him. Believe what you want to believe … but they’re not trading him.”

Wouldn’t trade him for four first-rounders? Wow, there’s no wiggle room there. The Browns are loaded with draft picks, getting one more second-rounder from the Houston deal unloading Brock Osweiler, supposedly to add to their leverage for a Jimmy G deal. They can do something real crazy but Schefter insists it won’t matter.

So if nothing will net Garoppolo, whether it’s Cleveland doing the bidding or another team, is this just about making sure there’s adequate insurance for a 40-year-old Tom Brady?

Certainly that’s a big part of it, because Jacoby Brissett isn’t ready to assume that mantel after just one year by most accounts. But judging by what the Patriots are turning down, there has to be more to it.

If the Patriots are passing up a reported first-round pick, and perhaps more to come on top of that, and don’t move Garoppolo this year, when he’s at his highest trade value, they must believe in-house he’s the next guy. They have to think he has what it takes to succeed Brady.

If they don’t see him taking the baton from Brady and think Garoppolo is just another guy, aren’t they mismanaging the situation in light of what they’re reportedly turning down?

That’s just not how Bill Belichick does business. He doesn’t make a habit of fumbling assets.

Now, keeping Garoppolo beyond this season is another matter. It gets messy with a franchise tag that would force the Pats to pay their backup upward of $20 million to hold a clipboard.

So the endgame of holding onto Jimmy G is fascinating. Brady might be turning 40 during training camp but he’s yet to show signs of age.

That could change, of course. That’s why you might want to hang onto Garoppolo for as long as possible. If you wind up losing him for nothing, there will be a lot of people angry at the apparent windfall lost.

But Garoppolo, if he’s the real deal, doesn’t want to sit on the Patriots’ bench for the foreseeable future and be a backup, even if they pay him a ton to do so under the tag. He’s a competitor and wants to play. Plenty of other quarterbacks in the first two rounds of his 2014 draft class (Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr) already have gotten their chance.

Maybe Brady starts to hit the age wall sooner rather than later. Who knows? Just understand that if the Patriots ultimately pass up a king’s ransom for Garoppolo, they’re rolling the dice on his future, and Brady’s as well. They could very well lose him for much less later.

But they must also believe he’s worth trying to keep, not just as Brady insurance but as the heir apparent. We’ll see if that scenario plays out, and they hold firm with Jimmy G and turn down all offers, as Schefter has maintained.