The Las Vegas Raiders made the move to Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback in 2023, and one publication is not very high on him.
After nine seasons as the starting quarterback for the Raiders franchise, Derek Carr was released on Valentine's Day this offseason. It did not take the franchise long to move on from him, however, as they quickly brought in veteran Jimmy Garoppolo to run Josh McDaniels's offense in 2023.
Garoppolo has a history of winning at the NFL level, but also has a reputation of being injury-plagued. When healthy, he has put up solid statistics, but he appeared in only 17 games in 2020 and 2022 combined.
The season in between those years, 2021, Garoppolo was outstanding for the 49ers, starting 15 games and helping San Francisco to the NFC title game. In 2023, the hope is that he can stay healthy enough to pilot a Raiders offense that is loaded with weapons.
Pro Football Focus is not sure that will happen.
Raiders starting QB comes in at No. 24 overall
Pro Football Focus recently ranked all potential 32 starting quarterbacks, and to say Garoppolo got a little respect would be an understatement. Garoppolo came in at No. 24 overall in the rankings by PFF, and they had this to say about the two-time Super Bowl winner.
"The Raiders have a good collection of receivers to throw to, but Garoppolo has a 3.6% career turnover-worthy play rate, significantly higher than his big-time-throw rate (2.9%). Even if he stays healthy all season, he is likely a below-average starter."Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus
Ten spots ahead of Jimmy G is the man he replaced as Raiders starting quarterback, as Carr came in at No. 14 overall. That ranking puts him as the fifth-best quarterback in the entire NFC, and the best quarterback in his division, the NFC South.
To compare, Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson all rank about Garoppolo in these rankings.
Of course, that does not mean much, as the AFC West is loaded with quarterback talent, and the NFC South boasts starters like Desmond Ridder in Atlanta, Bryce Young in Carolina, and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay. For Garoppolo, the goal is simple, stay healthy, run the offense, and try to turn the page on what was a six-win season a year ago.