It was always going to happen, but on Tuesday afternoon, the Jimmy Garoppolo news finally dropped. According to The Athletic's Senior NFL Insider Dianna Russini, the Raiders are expected to release the quarterback on Wednesday:
The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to cut QB Jimmy Garoppolo tomorrow, per sources.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 12, 2024
There are a few teams interested.
It's not exactly a groundbreaking report, as that always felt like the plan after Garoppolo was suspended for the first two games of next season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. If the Raiders outright release him, it'll free up a little over $11 million in cap space; though if they designate the money as a post June 1 cut, those cap savings would double. They made their decision clear on Monday afternoon when they signed former Colts QB Gardner Minshew to a two-year deal that was worth up to $25 million, and – unless something in the NFL draft goes sideways – reportedly plan to have him compete with Aiden O'Connell next season. And while he'll miss some time next year season, it's not surprising to hear that there are a few teams that are still interested. Who exactly? These are our three guesses.
Three Teams Interested in Jimmy Garoppolo for 2024
1. Denver Broncos
If Sean Payton doesn't want to turn things around in Denver with Russell Wilson, he doesn't want to do it with Jarred Stidham either. The Broncos have quietly had one of the worst stretch of QB performances over the last decade, and while he's not on the hot seat yet, Payton's going to have to start showing results, especially after how many high-profile cuts they've made already. Garoppolo clearly isn't the answer to a franchise's QB woes, but he'll cost basically nothing. Plus, if Denver can't swing a trade for one of the top three QB prospects in this year's draft, stringing along one more developmental season with Jimmy G feels like a equally viable and unenviable option. It's not what Broncos fans want to hear, but it's not like this team is close to competing this year – especially if they don't get a QB this April.
2. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings would have been a more logical fit before signing Sam Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal on Tuesday afternoon. With that being said, if you're going to ride with one replacement level starter, you probably won't mind having another one ready on the bench. QBs in Kevin O'Connell's Vikings offense seem to always put up huge numbers – and then get paid well for it – which would certainly appeal to Garoppolo as he tries to prove to other 8-8 NFL teams that he's still capable of being their starter. As the expression goes, if you have two QBs, you have no QBs – but when the Vikings are deciding between Darnold and Garoppolo, they probably already know that.
3. New Orleans Saints
It would be very NFL to have Garoppolo and Derek Carr on the same team one year after the Raiders replaced the latter with the former. And now that former Saints' backup Jameis Winston is off to Cleveland, New Orleans is in the market for a cheap (if you can believe it, their cap situation sucks) and dependable backup QB. He fits the Saints' system as much as they need any backup QB to fit their system and was a 3,800-yard, 25-touchdown only two years ago. And it's not like Garoppolo is going to block the Saints drafting Carr's eventual successor: New Orleans only has two top-100 picks this year, and with the highest one being #14 overall, trading up to take Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels doesn't feel realistic. He'd be underwhelming as a team's chosen starter, but as a backup, Garoppolo's not a bad move.