The Los Angeles Rams have been busy during free agency and they made a splash when they signed Jimmy Garoppolo to be their new backup quarterback to Matthew Stafford.
Garoppolo spent the 2023 season with the Las Vegas Raiders but his stint with the team only lasted one season as injuries and the firing of former head coach Josh McDaniels led to his benching. Garoppolo’s tenure with the Raiders got off to a rocky start as he was forced to miss a chunk of the offseason due to a foot injury.
The veteran quarterback was eventually released by Las Vegas, making him a free agent for the second offseason in a row. After the initial wave of free agency passed, Garoppolo made the wise choice to come to Los Angeles to rehab his value.
Garoppolo’s deal is for one year and he can earn up to $12 million through incentives, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:
The #Rams are giving new backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo a 1-year contract with a base value of $4.5M, sources say. This is all including a 2-game suspension. He has a max value of $12M based on incentives. It’s complicated, but those are the basics. pic.twitter.com/SFhRgOghgO
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 20, 2024
$12 million is a lot for a backup quarterback like Garoppolo, but they are likely incentives that he has no chance of hitting barring an injury to Stafford. It’s a low-risk move for Los Angeles, who has struggled to win games without their starting quarterback on the field, and Garoppolo at least brings plenty of experience running an offense.
Even when healthy, Garoppolo didn’t do much to prove that he’s a starter in the league but landed in arguably the best spot in Los Angeles. Head coach Sean McVay has a knack for getting the best out of his players and Garoppolo will surely learn under him this season.
Former backups like Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz showed real flashes in McVay’s system, and Garoppolo is surely hoping he can follow in their footsteps and cash in next offseason.
Jimmy Garoppolo explains reasoning behind two-game suspension
While signing Garoppolo shored up the quarterback room, the Rams will be without him for the first two games of the 2024 season as he was suspended by the league for violating its performance enhancing substances policy. Garoppolo took ownership of the punishment when he said that he messed up the therapeutic use exemption.
