Jimmy Garoppolo has been reunited with Josh McDaniels, as the Las Vegas Raiders will give the veteran quarterback a three-year, $67.5 million contract with $34 million guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
McDaniels, now the Raiders’ head coach, worked with Garoppolo as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator from 2014 through 2016 after the Patriots took Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 draft out of East Illinois. Garoppolo completed 67% of his passes for 690 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions as Tom Brady’s backup, which set him up for the San Francisco 49ers to trade for him in October, 2017. The 49ers signed Garoppolo to a five-year, $137.5 million extension in 2019, and Garoppolo walked through just about all of that contract, for better or worse.
Garoppolo’s numbers with the 49ers look very good — a 67.6% completion rate over six seasons, with 82 touchdown passes, 42 interceptions, and a passer rating of 99.2. But Garoppolo never really lifted his team above its station — certainly not in the 49ers’ Super Bowl season of 2019, and not since. The 49ers had already moved beyond Garoppolo with the major trade that netted them Trey Lance, and the fact that Brock Purdy was able to lead that offense last year at a level Garoppolo really couldn’t last season after both Lance and Garoppolo were hurt says a lot.
There’s little doubt that McDaniels will get the most out of Garoppolo, but what does that really mean? And is Garoppolo even better than Derek Carr, who McDaniels was so eager to jettison after one season? This low grade is not about how great Jimmy Garoppolo is or isn’t, and more about the Raiders’ plan. They have Garoppolo on a relatively lowball deal, which is nice, but a bridge quarterback with a bad defense isn’t a recipe for postseason success.