Jim Trotter says he'd be concerned if Jimmy Garoppolo's preference is to back up Tom Brady instead of starting for a team like the Browns. (2:05)

New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo told ESPN's Adam Schefter that he's trying not to think about speculation that he might be traded this offseason.

Garoppolo talked to Schefter on his Know Them From Adam podcast and said his "head will start spinning" if he thinks about the rumors.

"For the most part I'm just trying to stay level-headed, try not to overthink it too much," Garoppolo told Schefter. "Because at the end of the day I'm still under contract. It's not my decision if I get traded or if I don't. So you try to take it all in stride."

The quarterback said he stays off Twitter and tries not to pay attention to reports about his future. He said he can't avoid the speculation altogether because his mother fills him in on information. He joked that his mother could be Schefter's assistant.

Schefter asked Garoppolo about teams linked to him in trade rumors, but the quarterback said, "I've only been in Foxborough, so I don't know anything different in the NFL yet."

Asked about the Chicago Bears, Garoppolo, who played in college at Eastern Illinois, said, "I really don't know how it'd feel" to play professionally in Illinois.

Schefter also asked Garoppolo about teammate Julian Edelman's comparison of the quarterback to Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre. Garoppolo laughed it off before saying it was an honor to be compared to the two quarterbacks.

"I can't say I was surprised because it was Jules and you never know what that guy is going to say. He's awesome. I love Jules.

"It's tremendous just to even be in the same sentence as those guys."