The Los Angeles Rams have a lot of decisions to make on a number of their own free agents and one of the more interesting ones is with backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Matthew Stafford has already announced he is returning after his MVP season, and having a good backup behind him is extremely important.
Garoppolo has been with the Rams for two seasons now and while he has made just one start, he is a reliable and steady option. Garoppolo also has the trust of this Rams coaching staff and particularly head coach Sean McVay.
But Garoppolo is a free agent and could look to head elsewhere, especially if he feels he can still be a starter in this league and an opportunity presents itself. But McVay made it clear that the Rams want to re-sign Garoppolo and would love to have him back next season, via Stu Jackson of theRams.com:
“Absolutely, I love Jimmy,” McVay said. “Would absolutely want him back. I did see those reports too on Mike trying to steal our guy, but no, Jimmy’s a really good player, and so we would love him back. I’m sure he’ll have multiple opportunities and then we’ll just kind of see where we’re at. But he’s been tremendous for the last couple years. We’ve loved everything he’s about. You guys know how I feel about him when we’ve spoken about him, and we would love him back. But I’m also not naive to the fact that he’ll probably have a lot of opportunities, and if those are things that he wants to pursue that give him a chance to play, I would understand that.”
Of course, Mike LaFleur is the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and former offensive coordinator of the Rams under McVay. He has worked closely with Garoppolo over the past couple of seasons and also previously in San Francisco, so it makes sense that he would want to bring him in. And with the Cardinals expected to part ways with Kyler Murray, that could be the potential starting job Garoppolo is looking for.
But McVay also knows what he has in the trusted veteran and wants to bring him back. If Garoppolo were to leave the only other quarterback on the roster would be Stetson Bennett, the Rams’ fourth-round pick in 2023 who has yet to throw a pass in the NFL.
This team has plans on winning a Super Bowl this year and McVay and the Rams obviously see value in what Garoppolo brings to the table. Whether they are able to bring him back, or if he gets lured elsewhere, will be something to watch this offseason.
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