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Jimmy Garoppolo was forced to leave Allegiant Stadium in an ambulance following the first half of the Las Vegas Raiders‘ Week 6 matchup with the New England Patriots due to a back injury. There was initially a lot of concern that he could be out for an extended period of time but it looks like the injury isn’t as serious as originally thought.
Head coach Josh McDaniels offered a key update on the quarterback.
“There was some concern yesterday there was an internal issue so we did a bunch of scans yesterday, last night,” McDaniels said during his October 16 press conference. “Seems like we dodged a big bullet in that regard. That’s good news. … The prognosis is a lot better than it might have otherwise been. Don’t yet for this week, relatively speaking.”
Garoppolo has suffered significant injuries in five of his last eight seasons so the Raiders have to hold its breath every time he gets hurt. While it appears that the quarterback could miss some time from this latest back injury, it likely won’t keep him out for a significant stretch.
Josh McDaniels Won’t Rush QB Decision
If Jimmy Garoppolo can’t play in Week 7 against the Chicago Bears, Josh McDaniels will have a decision on his hands. Brian Hoyer played well enough for the team to beat the Patriots but hasn’t won a start since 2016.
Rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell got the nod in Week 4 when Garoppolo was out with a concussion but had three turnovers in the loss. McDaniels isn’t going to rush a decision on who will start.
“We have a little patience here for ourselves and to just kind of see what the report is going to be,” McDaniels said during his October 15 postgame press conference. “And I’m hoping for the best obviously, like we all are. So, I don’t know exactly where it’s at. We’ll find out more and then obviously try to make the best decision we can for the team.”
Who Will Be the Las Vegas Raiders’ Starting QB?
While starting Brian Hoyer is the safe choice against a bad Bears team that will likely be missing starting quarterback Justin Fields, the Raiders may want to see what they have in Aidan O’Connell. Jimmy Garoppolo is the starter if he’s healthy but Josh McDaniels is keeping an open mind right now.
“I think in any situation, at any position, I think it would be helpful if you not only saw them in preseason, but you’ve actually seen them in live action and in a game and in a close game,” McDaniels said. “Brian today and obviously Aidan [O’Connell] in L.A., so that’s helpful. Certainly, I’m hoping for a healthy quarterback room in general and I thought Jimmy was doing some good things before he got twisted or hit there toward the end of the second quarter. So, we’ll just patiently see kind of what this is going to be and then we’ll make the best decision we can.”
The Raiders are 3-3 now and in the hunt for a playoff spot. There are still 11 games left to be played but the team is headed in the right direction. Who ends up being the starting quarterback if Garoppolo can’t play is a very important decision.
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