The New York Jets could turn to a familiar face to fill the backup quarterback role behind Aaron Rodgers.
Vic Tafur of The Athletic recently named the green and white as a potential landing spot for Las Vegas Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
“The 32-year-old will be released by the Las Vegas Raiders,” Tafur explained. “There will be a market for Jimmy Garoppolo.”
Garoppolo signed with the Raiders last offseason on a three-year deal for $72.75 million.
Garoppolo Suspension Details, Coming off Rough Year With Raiders
The former Eastern Illinois product only appeared in seven games for the Raiders and made six starts. He dealt with injuries, drama around the team, and a surprising benching after a head coaching change.
To add insult to injury, not only is Garoppolo expected to be cut but he’s also dealing with a new suspension.
Tafur said the two-game suspension that was served to him is “for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances (it’s only a two-game suspension because he didn’t get permission to use a prescribed medication, according to league sources).”
The silver lining is that Garoppolo will still be able to go through the full motions on a new team. He will be allowed to participate in the offseason programs, training camp, and preseason games according to Tafur.
Why the Garoppolo-Jets Potential Pairing Makes All the Sense in the World
According to Spotrac, the Jets have $20.4 million in available cap space. That is just below the league average in the NFL with a No. 20 overall ranking.
Garoppolo made a lot of money from the Raiders, but that won’t be the case with his next team. He “won’t be expensive”, Tafur explained in an article posted on Friday, February 23.
There is also the obvious connection to head coach Robert Saleh from their time together in San Francisco with the 49ers. They spent four seasons together from 2017 through 2020.
In 10 NFL seasons, Garoppolo has thrown for 15,494 passing yards, has completed 67.4% of his passes, and has a 94 touchdown to 51 interception ratio.
The only potential hangup in this family reunion is Garoppolo’s troubling injury history. He has only played a full season once in his decade in the league. That season, 2019, he took the 49ers all the way to the Super Bowl.
However, with the Jets coming off of an injury-plagued season at QB, Garoppolo might not be the perfect fit. New York would likely be looking for someone on the open market who is a bit more durable just in case they get called upon.
Rich Cimini of ESPN was told by an anonymous veteran quarterback that it might prove difficult to recruit a notable backup this offseason because of the presence of Rodgers as the unquestioned QB1.
If that proves to be true, perhaps the Jets won’t have the luxury of being picky. At a certain point, beggars can’t be choosers and the Jets might be stuck with a Garoppolo-type option.
The silver lining is Jimmy G would be a massive upgrade over what the Jets trotted out this past season. They might just have to also invest in a QB3 to insure themselves in case of injury.
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Jets Listed as ‘Landing Spot’ for $72 Million Veteran QB: Insider