Bill Belichick has continually made it clear he’s not afraid to trade away players when the return is right. On Monday night, he proved it once more, with a shocker of a trade. The Patriots shipped homegrown quarterback prospect Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers in exchange for San Francisco’s original 2018 second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Schefter also reported that the 49ers will release veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.

How did this trade happen? Trade rumors have surrounded Tom Brady’s backup ever since he started two games for the Patriots last year. However, things had been quiet this season.

This offseason, some thought Garoppolo’s time in Foxborough was over, as a message on his Instagram account said, “So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston.” During a March edition of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, Rapoport said there were no trade talks between Cleveland and New England, and sources said the post was a hoax. Don Yee, Garoppolo’s agent, said the quarterback’s Instagram account was hacked, and Garoppolo deleted the post.

The 49ers desperately need a quarterback, and Tom Brady is still the league’s best, even at age 40.

What does this mean for the 49ers? The 49ers are winless this season, largely because of quarterback play. Brian Hoyer was named the starter at the beginning of the season, and he averaged 207 yards per game and threw four touchdowns and four picks. He was benched after six games for C.J. Beathard, whose stats were actually worse than Hoyer’s. Beathard had 215 yards per game, but threw three picks and just two touchdowns over three games.

Garoppolo gave the 49ers confidence that he can outperform both Hoyer and Beathard with his brief experience filling in for Brady during his Deflategate suspension last season.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has had his eye on Garoppolo for a while.

What does this mean for the Patriots? New England has shipped away the passer who started two games in Tom Brady’s absence early in 2016, keeping him on the roster to back up the former two-time league MVP.

The Patriots also traded away Jacoby Brissett to the Colts. Brissett filled in for Brady last season after Garoppolo was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Brissett is now starting in Indianapolis.

New England doesn’t have a single quarterback on its roster other than Brady after the Garoppolo trade. A signing must be imminent, and Hoyer is a possibility.

Garoppolo posted a stellar 117.0 rating while completing 70 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdowns without a single interception. He led New England to an opening night win over Arizona on the road before pushing the team to a 24-3 halftime lead against Miami before exiting that game with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder.

Now, he’ll be Kyle Shanahan’s latest project.