Jimmy Garoppolo's Best Landing Spots amid NFL Suspension, Impending Raiders Release

If you're a quarterback-needy team looking for an oft-injured player who will also miss time next season due to a suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy, Jimmy Garoppolo is here for you.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Garoppolo received a two-game suspension from the league for not having a valid therapeutic use exemption for a prescribed medication he was taking.

Garoppolo isn't going to appeal the suspension, meaning the earliest he will be available next season is Week 3.

Schefter also noted the Raiders are expected to release Garoppolo at some point in March before his $11.25 million roster bonus is due.

This isn't surprising news at all considering Garoppolo was benched midway through the 2023 season for Aidan O'Connell. The 32-year-old was bad in the seven games he did play, with nine interceptions in 169 pass attempts.

Garoppolo's 5.3 percent interception rate would have led the NFL by more than one full percentage point if he had enough attempts to qualify.

On top of his struggles in 2023 with the Raiders, Garoppolo also carries the stigma of being an injury risk. There were concerns initially from Las Vegas after agreeing to a three-year, $67.5 million deal stemming from the broken foot Garoppolo suffered in Week 13 of the 2022 season with the San Francisco 49ers.

Since his first full year with the 49ers in 2018, Garoppolo only played every game in the regular season once (2019). The list of injuries that have kept him out of games over the years includes the aforementioned broken foot, a torn ACL (2018), high ankle sprain (2020), calf and thumb (2021).

At this point, Garoppolo is most likely going to have to settle for being a backup going into next season. Here are the teams that could present him with an offer hard to turn down.

New York Jets

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 24: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers shakes hands with Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers after their game at Levi's Stadium on November 24, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

For the New York Jets, the connection starts with head coach Robert Saleh. He was on the 49ers' coaching staff as their defensive coordinator from 2017 to '20.

Even though Saleh's entire background as a coach in the NFL, including with the Jets, has been focused on defense, that is apparently going to change next season.

Jets owner Woody Johnson told ESPN's Jeff Darlington last week that Saleh is "going to concentrate on offense," with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich handling things on that side of the ball.

While it seems unlikely Saleh is going to give up his responsibilities on defense, Johnson's comments do indicate they want him to be more involved with the offense.

One thing the Jets need to do this offseason that they seemingly refused to do during the 2023 season is find a capable backup if Aaron Rodgers suffers another significant injury.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on Jan. 7 that the Jets informed Zach Wilson during the season they intend to trade him this offseason. Rodgers and Wilson are currently the only quarterbacks under contract to the team.

Even though Rodgers seemed to have an outsized influence on every decision the Jets made in 2023, even after rupturing his Achilles in Week 1, they can't go through another season without a backup plan at quarterback.

It doesn't matter how optimistic Rodgers might be about his outlook for 2024. He's 40 years old and coming off a serious injury for a team that has a lot of work to do to fix its offensive line.

Garoppolo isn't exactly the type of quarterback you want if there are protection issues with the offensive line, but he might be the best option for the Jets as they try to find a capable No. 2 behind Rodgers.

Denver Broncos

Candice Ward/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 07: Head Coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos during warm up against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 27-14. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)

Assuming Russell Wilson gets released, which is the expectation of virtually everyone in the NFL, the Denver Broncos are going to be in a difficult spot trying to add a quarterback.

Releasing Wilson will come with an $85 million dead-cap charge for the Broncos. They can spread that number out over the next two seasons—$35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025—if he's designated as a post-June 1 release.

But they are still projected to be about $24 million over the cap going into the offseason. The easy decision for the Broncos would be to draft a quarterback in the first round and try to sign a low-cost veteran who can either start to open the year if they feel the rookie needs more time or step in during the season if the rookie struggles.

The Broncos are in a tricky spot to draft a quarterback because they don't pick until No. 12 in the first round. A trade up isn't necessarily impossible, though it would seem unadvisable for a team that only has six picks this year and needs to replenish its talent pool after not having a first-round pick in the previous two years because of the Wilson trade.

Since most projections right now have the top three quarterbacks—Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels—coming off the board with the top three picks, the decision at No. 12 will come down to how the Broncos evaluate the next group that includes J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr.

Head coach Sean Payton did spend many years with the New Orleans Saints playing salary-cap shenanigans to kick the financial can down the road. He could try something similar this offseason if he really wants to sign Kirk Cousins, who is coming off an Achilles injury.

Garoppolo has a history of being in a situation with a rookie quarterback who was a first-round pick. He weathered it well during the 2021 season with the 49ers.

The Broncos might ask him to do it again in 2024 if they want to bring in a rookie to start building their long-term future.

San Francisco 49ers

Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 2: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan and Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers talk on the field before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 2, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs defeated the 49ers 31-20. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Let's state up front that this one feels very unlikely to happen, but there are reasons not to immediately dismiss it altogether.

Among the reasons to be skeptical of a reunion is that Garoppolo seemed okay to leave the 49ers when he referenced "a lot of weird situations" with the organization in the aftermath of Trey Lance being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn't publicly said anything negative about Garoppolo, but his actions over the years do indicate he was ready to move on long before it actually happened.

The 49ers traded a massive haul of picks to select Lance with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft. They spent the 2022 offseason trying to trade him before apparently getting cold feet on Lance, which led them to bring Garoppolo back as their backup going into the year.

Once Brock Purdy emerged as the starter for the 49ers in the wake of Garoppolo's foot injury, it allowed both sides to get a clean break from each other.

Looking at where things stand with the quarterback depth chart going into 2024, the 49ers need a backup. Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen, their No. 2 and 3 options this season, are set to become free agents.

The only time in his career that Garoppolo has had any sustained success in the NFL was in Shanahan's system. He went 38-17 in 55 regular-season starts with the 49ers from 2017 to '22, leading the team to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019 season.