Jimmy Garoppolo Released by Raiders amid 2024 NFL Free Agency Rumors

Jimmy Garoppolo's run in Sin City is over after one season.

The Las Vegas Raiders released the veteran quarterback at the start of the new league year on Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Designating him as a post-June 1 cut would mean saving $12.1 million in 2024 but carrying $15.5 million and $12.8 million in dead money over each of the next two years.

This comes after Garoppolo received a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. When news of the ban broke, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Raiders were expected to release him before he'd trigger an $11.3 million roster bonus.

Before the ink was dry on Garoppolo's three-year, $72.8 million contract with the Raiders, it seemed fair to wonder whether the team was making a lateral move from its previous starting quarterback, Derek Carr.

Then came news of the offseason foot surgery that required him and the team to rework the language of his deal. For a player who has struggled to stay healthy in his career, that was a less than idea way to get his tenure started.

Then the season started.

Garoppolo started eight of Las Vegas' first eight games, throwing for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Interim head coach Antonio Pierce named Aidan O'Connell the starting quarterback in Week 9. O'Connell went 16-of-25 for 209 yards in a 30-6 win over the New York Giants, and the coaching staff didn't look back from there.

Garoppolo made one more appearance, briefly replacing an injured O'Connell in Week 18 against the Denver Broncos.

At least for 2023, the 32-year-old might have been doomed to fail thanks to the foot injury. He didn't pass his physical until mid-July, losing valuable time ahead of training camp to get acquainted with a new team.

Speaking with ESPN's Paul Gutierrez after the Raiders' season ended, Garoppolo also reflected how in Gutierrez's words he "never felt comfortable physically."

"It was tricky," the experienced signal-caller said. "It was different than any injury I've had in the past. You don't realize, I mean you're on your feet, obviously, all day, and it's just a little thing that nags you and so it was tough throughout training camp. I can't even lie.

"But we got to a good point where I started to not even notice it really the last couple months. Haven't even thought about it. Rehab went well and I finally feel like myself again. So that's one positive to come out of this—not going into rehab or surgery this offseason. That's big time."

The midseason coaching change—or having Josh McDaniels from the outset—probably didn't help matters. It's not as though O'Connell thrived over his 11 appearances. His passer rating (83.9) and QBR (40.6) were only marginally higher than those of Garoppolo.

Fans know the book on Garoppolo by this point. He's a solid starter and a little better than league-average when healthy. That might sound like damning with faint praise, but league-average is better than what a number of teams were rolling with last season.

But Garoppolo has hit double-digit starts just three times since entering the NFL in 2014.

Maybe he can avoid injuries in 2024, and if that happens, a bounce-back campaign will be in store. Expectations for him will be set a lot lower than they were last offseason.

The suspension presents a setback because Garoppolo is denied the opportunity to start in Week 1 for a new team. Perhaps that door was closed already.