Raiders Must Explore Jimmy Garoppolo Free Agency Alternatives amid Latest NFL Rumors

The Las Vegas Raiders moved on from longtime starting quarterback Derek Carr earlier this offseason. They'll have a new starter in 2023, though there's no guarantee that Las Vegas finds its permanent answer at the position in the coming weeks.

"We're in charge of filling the most important position on the team," general manager Dave Ziegler said last month on the Bussin' With the Boys podcast (h/t Josh Alper of ProFootballFocus). "There's some pressure that comes along with that, and however we fill it, it doesn't mean we're going to have an immediate answer this year."

Indeed, finding a quarterback of the future in April's draft could prove difficult. The quarterback-needy Carolina Panthers have already traded for the No. 1 pick, while the Houston Texans (pick No. 2) and Indianapolis Colts (pick No. 4) are also in the signal-caller market.

The Raiders probably aren't landing one of the top three quarterback prospects—Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Florida's Anthony Richardson or Alabama's Bryce Young—with the seventh overall pick.

Las Vegas could take a chance on Kentucky's Will Levis or perhaps target a prospect like Tennessee's Hendon Hooker later in the draft. However, it would behoove the Raiders to first find a veteran who can fill the bridge role.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would be a logical choice, as he's a quality game manager when healthy, has valuable post-season experience and played under head coach Josh McDaniels when the two were with the New England Patriots.

However, Las Vegas is not the only team reportedly interested in Jimmy G.

Before Carolina made its draft trade with the Chicago Bears for pick No. 1, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that Carolina, Las Vegas and the Texans were expected to show interest in Garoppolo.

As ESPN's Dan Graziano speculated, the New York Jets could also pivot to Garoppolo if their bid for Aaron Rodgers doesn't pan out.

"If this doesn't work out for the Jets, I expect them to take a run at Jimmy Garoppolo but to also consider other options, including trades for veterans (Lamar Jackson? Kirk Cousins? Matthew Stafford?) who could be on the block for one reason or another," Graziano wrote on Sunday.

Obviously, the Panthers are probably now out of the Garoppolo mix, and we'll have to see how things unfold for New York. However, it's clear that Garoppolo is going to have a strong free-agent market, which will drive up his price point.

According to Spotrac, Garoppolo already has a projected market value of $34.9 million annually.

At this price, the Raiders should not be interested. Las Vegas has $45.5 million in projected cap space, but it also has many more needs than the one at quarterback. The Raiders surrendered 35 sacks this past season and ranked 28th in total defense and 26th in points allowed.

Cap implications aside, Las Vegas shouldn't be willing to commit that sort of money to a quarterback with a significant injury history like Garoppolo. Yes, he has experience under McDaniels and has helped steer the 49ers to a Super Bowl. He's also coming off a season-ending ankle injury and has been healthy for exactly one 16-game season in his career.

The Raiders couldn't possibly count on Garoppolo starting all 17 games in 2023 and would need to add veteran insurance behind him. That could mean bringing back Jarrett Stidham, who started Las Vegas' final two games in 2022, or adding someone else from the free-agent player pool.

Given this reality, if Garoppolo's projected value is accurate, the Raiders should bypass the 31-year-old entirely. Other intriguing options are out there, including Jacoby Brissett (another former Patriot), Gardner Minshew, Mike White and Baker Mayfield—though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to make an early play for Mayfield, according to Rapoport.

Brissett is a particularly enticing option, as he posted a respectable 88.9 passer rating in 11 starts this past season and should be available at a fair price. He has a projected market value of just $5.4 million annually.

The Raiders are not a quarterback away from a championship, and they could improve more by adding a quarterback or two on smaller contracts—and perhaps a rookie—and using free agency to address areas like the offensive line and the secondary.

Now, if a market for Garoppolo doesn't materialize, it's a slightly different story. He played on an adjusted one-year, $7 million contract in 2022, and a similar deal would be sensible for Las Vegas.

But Garoppolo hasn't shown that he's durable enough to be anything more than a stopgap starter and bridge quarterback for Las Vegas. At the cost of $30 million-plus, he's too expensive to be that bridge for the Raiders.

We'll know soon enough how the 2023 quarterback shakes out—the legal contact period begins at noon ET on Monday. For now, Las Vegas should be heavily considering veteran options not named Garoppolo, weighing the possibility of moving up in Round 1, and viewing Jimmy G as an option only worth pursuing if he's available for significantly less than most expect.

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*Cap and market information via Spotrac.