Tag: Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract has small cap hit, only $3.2M guaranteed

Jimmy Garoppolo’s deal was reported as being worth up to $12 million, but his cap hit and guaranteed money is very manageable for the Rams

When the Los Angeles Rams first signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a one-year deal, it was reported as being worth up to $12 million with incentives. That was obviously a very big number, but the words “up to” were very important.

Even still, the initial reports said the base value was $4.5 million.

The full details of Garoppolo’s contract with the Rams have since been released by Over The Cap and it’s very manageable for Los Angeles. According to OTC, Garoppolo has a base salary of $1.21 million, which is fully guaranteed, and he also got a $1.97 million signing bonus.

In total, that brings his fully guaranteed money to $3.18 million, which is also his cap hit for the 2024 season. That’s not a big number and puts him in the range of cap hits for backups such as Tyrod Taylor ($2.8 million), Cooper Rush ($2.9 million), Case Keenum ($3.3 million) and Davis Mills ($3.4 million).

For a veteran with as much experience as Garoppolo has, it’s a fairly inexpensive contract given out by Les Snead and the Rams. There are 41 quarterbacks with larger cap hits than Garoppolo in 2024 and that’s before the incoming rookies even hit the board.

Yes, the max value is high but that’s most likely attributed to extended playing time in the event that Matthew Stafford gets injured. In that scenario, the Rams will need someone as experienced as Garoppolo.

Sean McVay is a big reason Jimmy Garoppolo picked the Rams: ‘Sealed the deal’

Jimmy Garoppolo picked the Rams in free agency, in large part because of the chance to play for Sean McVay

Jimmy Garoppolo became a free agent this offseason after being benched by the Las Vegas Raiders last season, hitting the market as a likely backup option for several teams. Despite the fact that he was no longer viewed as a starting quarterback, Garoppolo did say this week that he “had a couple different options,” which suggests the Rams weren’t the only team interested.

There were a lot of things that drew Garoppolo to Los Angeles, but it sounds like the primary reason was Sean McVay. Getting a chance to play for a brilliant coach like McVay was a big plus for Garoppolo, especially having spent time in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

“It was a combination,” Garoppolo said of what was appealing about the Rams. “Obviously good players all around, that’s a big part of it. Talking to Sean on the phone, him just running me through offense and things that he had in mind. It really became appetizing and I know a lot of the coaches here so a lot of familiarity in that aspect. Then having played against the Rams a lot in my career, I’ve seen a lot of good things from L.A.”

Garoppolo has never played for McVay before but he’s familiar with some of the coaches on his staff, including offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and senior assistant Jerry Schuplinski. That will help make Garoppolo’s integration into the organization easier, but it’s McVay’s coaching ability that has the veteran quarterback particularly excited.

“Real excited, real excited,” he said. “We’ve talked a bunch after games. Last year when I was with the Raiders, got to practice here against the Rams. We talked after a couple of those practices. He’s always just been a very perceptive guy. He sees a lot of things, sees it very well, sees it for what it is and that’s a big part of how I got here. I think he had a vision, talked me through it, really just explained what he saw my role as, and just his football knowledge. I’ve heard it from so many different players and coaches, but to be here firsthand and get to experience it, that’s what I’m really excited about.”

McVay, ever the recruiter, talked to Garoppolo on the phone during the free agency process and that’s what really sold the former 49ers quarterback on the idea of playing for the Rams.

“There were a couple different options, but once the Rams came in, started talking to Sean on the phone and really picking his brain, that was a cool moment,” he said. “That was when it really started to click. I was like this is becoming more and more real. Obviously love the area, starting to experience it a little bit being out here, can’t really beat this at all. But it’s just a bunch of those little things coming together. I think talking to Sean on the phone really sealed the deal though.”

Garoppolo steps in as Matthew Stafford’s backup, bringing plenty of experience and knowledge to the Rams’ quarterback room. It’s only a one-year deal and there’s a chance he never gets on the field, but he saw what Baker Mayfield accomplished in a short period of time in 2022, which led to another starting job with the Bucs in 2023 and a contract extension this offseason.

“I mean, what Baker (Mayfield) did, that was tremendous, incredible,” he said. “Sean’s a phenomenal offensive mind and a lot of the guys around here are and I think that played a big part in reinventing, whatever you want to call it, a quarterback, having good people around you. It’s not all going to be done by you. You got to have the people around you to put you in a good position, call the right plays, all those little things. And yeah, I saw this opportunity and I got excited. It just seemed right.”

Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract has max value of $12M with incentives

Jimmy Garoppolo’s one-year deal with the Rams has a base value of $4.5 million but incentives can bring it all the way up to $12 million 😳

With Super Bowl aspirations in 2024, the Los Angeles Rams are trying to make sure they’re prepared for any potential scenario where Matthew Stafford misses time due to injury. They signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a one-year deal this week and many fans were anxiously awaiting the details of his contract with Los Angeles.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared them on Wednesday and called the deal “complicated” because of the incentives. According to Rapoport, it’s a one-year deal worth $4.5 million, but it has a max value of $12 million thanks to incentives he can earn.

It remains to be seen what those incentives include, but in all likelihood, Garoppolo will only earn them if he’s forced into action for an extended period of time.

The Rams desperately needed a more reliable backup quarterback last season after Stetson Bennett was placed on the NFI list and Brett Rypien struggled in his lone start against Green Bay. Carson Wentz played well in Week 18 but Garoppolo has a lot of postseason experience and has been part of winning teams throughout his career.

The Rams are hoping Garoppolo never has to see the field but with the structure of his contract, they’re preparing for the worst and ready to pay Garoppolo a hefty amount if he’s needed for multiple weeks next season.

Jimmy Garoppolo explains what led to 2-game PED suspension

Jimmy Garoppolo is suspended for the first 2 games of the 2024 season and he explained what led to that ban

Jimmy Garoppolo is on his fourth career team in the NFL after signing with the Los Angeles Rams this week, a one-year deal to back up Matthew Stafford. The Rams prioritized the backup quarterback position after a disastrous year at that spot in 2023 and they landed on a veteran with plenty of experience.

Unfortunately, Garoppolo will be unavailable for the first two games of the 2024 season after being suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

“I mean, just messed up the TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemptions), really. I hate to joke about it, but just messed up the TUE when I first got to Las Vegas and yeah, bad timing I guess,” he said.

Garoppolo is still eligible to participate in all offseason activities so it’s not as if he has to stay away from the team during the summer. He’ll get to work closely with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay to learn the offense in advance of the regular season before returning in Week 3.

The Rams will obviously need to find an emergency backup for the first two weeks while Garoppolo is out, but in an ideal world, Stafford will be available for those games – and all 15 after that, too.

As for how Garoppolo will handle the suspension, he admits it’s “a weird one.”

“Take it in stride, I guess. Never really been in this situation before so it’s a weird one, but it is what it is,” he said. “I think attack OTAs, attack training camp, and let those first two games pass by. Hopefully we’ll get some dubs and start off 2-0 and keep things moving. But it’s just one of those situations. It is what it is. You got to deal with it and just keep moving on and stay positive.”

Look: Jimmy Garoppolo officially signs with Rams

Jimmy Garoppolo officially signed his Rams contract on Tuesday, returning to the NFC West with the 49ers’ rival

On the same day Aaron Donald retired, the Los Angeles Rams agreed to a one-year deal with former 49ers and Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The terms of the contract haven’t been released, but Garoppolo officially put pen to paper on Tuesday.

He signed his Rams contract, which will make him Matthew Stafford’s backup next season. After a tough year in Las Vegas where he was benched for rookie Aidan O’Connell, Garoppolo is looking to get back on track under Sean McVay’s guidance.

Garoppolo has already been suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season so he won’t be available in Weeks 1 or 2, but after that, he’ll be the No. 2 quarterback behind Stafford.

And here’s a first look at what Garoppolo will look like in a Rams uniform, which admittedly is a bit odd at first glance after seeing him in 49ers colors for so many years.

Why Jimmy Garoppolo should not have been Rams’ answer at backup QB

With Jimmy Garoppolo set to be the Rams’ backup QB in 2024, here’s why it’s a bad signing for the organization.

The Rams are no strangers to the backup quarterback market, having employed three quarterbacks in 2023. When Matthew Stafford was on the field, the Rams offense was efficient and explosive. When Stafford was not on the field, the need for a proper backup QB was felt.

A poor showing in Green Bay by Brett Rypien led to the Rams signing Carson Wentz to round out the season. Wentz played in the season finale against San Francisco but failed to impress. Wentz went 17-for-24 with 163 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the 21-20 victory.

Since Sean McVay was hired, the Rams have called John Wofford, Sean Mannion, Blake Bortles, Bryce Perkins and Baker Mayfield into service and while Mayfield and Wofford have put together impressive performances and big victories, the backups have not been consistently successful.

The Rams need a consistent backup who plays within the structure of the offense, is able to make throws into voids and is able to understand level concepts while making appropriate reads. That player is not Jimmy Garoppolo, who the Rams are signing to a one-year deal.

Garoppolo is a washed-up quarterback whose injury history would be the most concerning thing about him if he didn’t consistently put the ball in danger. The reason he was successful in New England and San Francisco is that he was asked to be a dink-and-dunk QB, rarely called upon to make big-time throws as those teams won with a strong rushing attack and solid defense. When asked to make a big throw, he misses. Just ask Emmanuel Sanders in the Super Bowl.

Now, the Rams have an excellent run game powered by Kyren Williams and an improved interior offensive line, as well as a solid defense. But in 2023, Stafford was called on to deliver in shootouts time and time again. If Garoppolo would be placed in those same scenarios, the Rams would lose.

To exemplify Garoppolo’s inability to get the job done, in six playoff games, Garoppolo has thrown for 962 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. That’s a 160-yard average per game. In comparison, Stafford has played in eight playoff games, throwing for 2,463 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. Stafford also has three rushing touchdowns. That’s an average of 308 passing yards per game.

I’m not comparing Stafford to Garoppolo but the drop-off between starter and backup can not be that drastic. To add insult to injury, Garoppolo had an awful 2023 season. In six starts, Garoppolo averaged 200 passing yards while throwing for seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. Fourth-round rookie Aiden O’Connell would then go on to average 231 passing yards while throwing 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 starts for the Raiders. Even Brian Hoyer threw for 231 yards and two interceptions in his one start.

Jimmy G is on the back half of his career. He’s already suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s performance enhancement policy, which will cause him to miss Weeks 1 and 2. Garoppolo is not a good signing, especially for a team with a quarterback who has missed time and who’s flirted with retirement in recent years.

With other options available, Garoppolo should not have been the answer.

NFC West Watch: Rams sign former 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Rams sign QB Jimmy Garoppolo

After one year away, an old foe of the Seattle Seahawks returns to the NFC West. Former San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has just signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Released one year into his three-year deal with the Raiders, Garoppolo is leaving Sin City for the City of Angels and returning to the Golden State.

Garoppolo’s short stint in Vegas was a bet that did not hit. He only started six games (resulting in a 3-3 record) with 1,205 passing yards, seven touchdowns against nine interceptions. After head coach Josh McDaniels was finally fired, Garoppolo found himself squarely on the bench for the remaining eight games.

Now that he is with the Rams, Garoppolo is widely expected to sit behind Matthew Stafford as his backup. Given Stafford’s constant injury history and penchant for missing at least a few games, it makes sense why Los Angeles would want a legitimate backup. Garoppolo may not be good, but he inexplicably finds himself on the winning side of games when he plays.

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Rams signing Jimmy Garoppolo is smart with Stetson Bennett’s future in doubt

The Rams are wise to invest in a reliable backup QB behind Matthew Stafford with Stetson Bennett’s future in doubt

The Los Angeles Rams tried to invest in the backup quarterback position last year by drafting Stetson Bennett in the fourth round, a decision that has yet to pan out. Bennett spent his rookie year on the non-football illness list for an undisclosed reason, remaining away from the team from September on.

We still don’t know why Bennett was suddenly out of football, but one thing is clear: The Rams don’t exactly trust him to get back on track anytime soon. That was made obvious by Sean McVay and Les Snead, who both said this offseason that they don’t know if Bennett will return in 2024 and that they’re acting as if they don’t have a QB on the roster behind Matthew Stafford.

Well, they do now after agreeing to a one-year deal with Jimmy Garoppolo on Friday – ironically, on the same day that Aaron Donald retired after 10 seasons. Rams fans may not like Garoppolo much, whether it’s because of his low ceiling as a passer or the fact that he’s 8-0 against their team in his regular-season career, but this is a smart move by Los Angeles.

Bennett’s future is very much in doubt and Carson Wentz, as impressive as he was in Week 18 against San Francisco, is still a big question mark in the NFL; it’s why he drew no interest from any other teams last season.

Garoppolo is the type of quarterback who can keep the ship afloat if Stafford misses any time at all – something the Rams have to prepare for, considering he’s missed at least one game in three of his last five seasons and is now 36 years old. He may not be a flashy quarterback or someone with great mobility like Wentz and some of the other backups the Rams have had over the years, but he’s a game manager capable of operating an offense similar to the one he ran under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.

And with the playmakers the Rams have, he just has to limit turnovers and not make costly mistakes. Get the ball into the hands of Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams and let them pick up yards after the catch, which is how Garoppolo made a living in San Francisco around Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk.

We have yet to see the contract details of Garoppolo’s one-year deal but it’s not going to be overly expensive. He’s a 32-year-old backup who struggled in Las Vegas last season. It’s not as if there was going to be a bidding war for him. Plus, he’s suspended for the first two games of the season due to a PED violation so that’ll take two game checks away from him in 2024.

After seeing Brett Rypien fumble his opportunity to start against Green Bay last year, the Rams needed a better backup and that’s what Garoppolo is. There’s little reason not to like this move for Los Angeles, who has an aging starting quarterback and a Super Bowl window that’s open next season.

Former Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo lands with the Rams

Jimmy Garoppolo has been signed by the Rams

Jimmy G has a new home. And he’s going back to Cali. The former Raiders and 49ers quarterback has signed on with the Los Angeles Rams according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Garoppolo was cut by the Raiders this week, just as the new league year began.

The former Super Bowl starter signed on with the Raiders last offseason, but lasted just six games before being benched in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell.

Due to his two-game suspension for a PED violation, his guarantees for this season were wiped out, thus leaving Las Vegas with over $11 million in cap savings this season.

Rams, Jimmy Garoppolo agree to 1-year deal

The Rams have agreed to a one-year deal with former 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo

There’s a new backup quarterback in Los Angeles. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Rams have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo joins the Rams after one year with the Raiders. Before that, he spent five years with the 49ers, leading them to the Super Bowl once and going 4-2 in the playoffs. He began his career with the Patriots as a second-round pick in 2014, the same year Aaron Donald was drafted. He won a Super Bowl as Tom Brady’s backup in 2014.

In his career, Garoppolo has a 43-20 record in the regular season, throwing 94 touchdown passes and 51 interceptions. Incredibly, he never lost to the Rams during the regular season, going 8-0 as a starter against Los Angeles.

The Rams struggled to find a reliable backup behind Stafford last year. Stetson Bennett spent the season on the non-football illness list, missing his entire rookie year. Brett Rypien played terribly in his one start against the Packers, and Carson Wentz joined the team in the second half of the season and beat the 49ers in Week 18.

Les Snead emphasized the need to find a backup quarterback this offseason and they’ve found one in Garoppolo.

It is worth noting that Garoppolo was suspended two games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, so he’ll be ineligible to play in Weeks 1 and 2 next season.