Garoppolo completed 27 of 41 pass attempts for 334 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while rushing twice for five yards in Sunday's 30-25 loss to Seattle. Head coach Sean McVay opted to rest several key starters with the NFC West title locked up, opening the door for Garoppolo to make his 2024 debut with the Rams. The veteran quarterback performed admirably given the circumstances, almost leading a second-unit offense to victory while posting solid fantasy numbers. The 31-year-old did well in this spot-start to possibly earn some looks from potential QB-thin rosters this upcoming offseason as his one-year deal with Los Angeles nears a close. Matthew Stafford is in line to re-take the reins of McVay's offense in the first round of the playoffs in a home tilt against either Minnesota or Detroit next weekend.
Rams coach Sean McVay confirmed Wednesday that Garoppolo will replace Matthew Stafford as the starting quarterback for Sunday's game against Seattle, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Garoppolo gets his first start of the year in a tough situation to put up good numbers, as the Rams figure to be resting a lot of starters against a Seahawks defense that'll be using most of its top guys. The Seahawks are heavily favored to win now that McVay has confirmed he's resting a bunch of starters.
Head coach Sean McVay suggested Monday that Garoppolo will serve as the Rams' primary quarterback in Sunday's game against the Seahawks, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports. "I think he's a really, really good football player and I'm looking forward to seeing him just go play the way he's capable of," McVay said of Garoppolo. "It's a great challenge against an excellent defense that's hitting their stride at the right time." While they can claim the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win over the Seahawks, the Rams are already assured no worse than the fourth seed -- and the home game in the wild-card round that comes with it -- after having already clinched the NFC West title. McVay suggested that he'll prioritize resting the team's top players and avoiding injuries for Week 18 rather than going all in on securing the No. 3 seed, meaning that normal starting quarterback Matthew Stafford will likely be a healthy inactive or play only limited snaps while Garoppolo either starts or directs the offense for the bulk of the contest. With 63 career NFL starts on his resume, the 33-year-old Garoppolo is about as a battle-tested as it gets for a backup quarterback, but he has yet to make his Rams debut while Stafford has played every snap through Los Angeles' first 16 games of the season.
The NFL reinstated Garoppolo from his two-game suspension Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports. Garoppolo was suspended for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy before the season, and he's now been reinstated after missing the Rams' first two games. Now that he's returned from suspension, expect Garoppolo to serve as the Rams' No. 2 quarterback behind Matthew Stafford.
Garoppolo is not expected to play in Sunday's preseason game against the Cowboys, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports. Garoppolo did not appear among the quarterbacks suited up pregame, leaving Stetson Bennett as Dresser Winn to handle the Rams' signal-caller duties Sunday, according to Stu Jackson of the team's official site. Garoppolo is expected to serve as the No.2 quarterback this season, though he'll still miss the first two regular-season games while serving a suspension for a violation of the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Therefore, Bennett and Winn are set to compete for the backup quarterback job to begin the 2024 campaign, so it's not too surprising that they'll be the ones under center for the team Sunday. Garoppolo's next chance to suit up this preseason will come during Saturday's exhibition against the Chargers.
The Rams and Garoppolo (suspension) agreed to a one-year contract Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. Garoppolo didn't exactly uphold the three-year contract he signed with the Raiders last March, appearing in just seven games due to injury and an eventual benching for rookie QB Aidan O'Connell after Week 8. Overall, Garoppolo completed 110 of 169 passes (65.1 percent) for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions in his stint with the silver and black. The current offseason has included a two-game suspension because of a violation of the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances, but Garoppolo figures to serve as Matthew Stafford's backup Week 3 and beyond in the coming campaign once the former completes the ban.
The Raiders have released Garoppolo. Per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN, the same applies to slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, with the moves slated to save the Raiders more than $19 million against their salary cap. Garoppolo is thus free to sign with another team, but wherever he lands, the veteran QB will be forced to sit out the first two games of the 2024 season due to a suspension for violating the NFL's performance enhancing substances policy. With Garoppolo no longer in the mix, Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew now top Las Vegas' signal caller depth chart.
Garoppolo didn't practice at all last week before sitting out Sunday's loss to the Bears, but the Raiders appear confident that the veteran signal-caller won't be headed for any further absences, barring a setback. The Raiders will release theri first Week 8 injury report later Thursday, which will indicate whether Garoppolo was a limited or full participant in his return to the field.