Admittedly, it's a bit early in the day to already be talking about Jimmy Garoppolo. No signing over the last couple years is a better representation of the Josh McDaniels era, and it's definitely too early in the day to be talking about him.
But after six games, three wins, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions, the Garoppolo move finally paid off. And it's in the most exciting way possible: salary cap relief! Nothing moves the needles like June-1 cuts, and the Raiders got themselves some much-needed cap relief over the weekend.
Jimmy Garoppolo has one final parting gift for the Raiders
Now that Garoppolo's off to go finish his destiny as the most backup QB of all time with the Rams, the Raiders' cap situation looks a bit less dire. In fact, an optimistic person could maybe say that it's ... encouraging? Here's what Spotrac had to say:
"Garoppolo’s tenure in Vegas was short-lived, and an out-of-nowhere suspension for PEDs became a late Christmas gift for the Raiders this past Spring, as an $11.25M salary guarantee was voided. Now, Las Vegas will take on dead cap hits of $4.26M for 2024, and $12.8M in 2025, representing a a savings of more than $24M this coming weekend. Garoppolo has since signed a 1 year, $3.1M contract with the LA Rams."
$12.8 million next year is a tough look, but you don't even need to go outside of the Raiders' own division to find a team that's in way worse shape. That Russell Wilson contract truly is the AFC West gift that keeps on giving.
And while the Raiders' turned around and just gave a good chunk of that money to, somehow, another journeyman quarterback whose ceiling is already well-established in an extremely depressing way, it's not Jimmy Garoppolo. He's the Rams' problem now.
So now Jimmy G officially has his Las Vegas legacy: he provided the team some brief cap space relief a few years earlier than expected. Put up the statue!