NEWSLETTER
There was some belief that Jimmy Garoppolo may have been able to play if the San Francisco 49ers reached the Super Bowl last season. Garoppolo suffered a foot injury on December 6, paving the way for Brock Purdy to take over in San Francisco. That injury was initially feared to be a Lisfranc fracture. However, the 49ers’ medical staff concluded that the injury was different and didn’t require surgery.
Fast forward five months, and the Raiders — Garoppolo’s new team — sing a different tune. Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels says Garoppolo will miss this week’s OTAs after having surgery on that foot in March after signing with the team.
Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.5 million deal with the Raiders in March. OTAs are what they are, but having your new quarterback at every practice possible seems like the optimal strategy.
Unfortunately, Garropolo Might Be Out Until Training Camp …
In a press conference at the Raiders facility in Henderson, Nevada, Josh McDaniels acknowledged that Garoppolo “could be” out until training camp. However, McDaniels’ comments today make it seem as though this is a process that the Raiders knew was coming even before they signed him in March.
“He’s going through his process just like we knew he would,” McDaniels said Thursday. “Nothing has happened that would surprise us based on the information we had.”
So, the Raiders knew that Garoppolo needed surgery and still gave him a lucrative contract to replace Derek Carr this spring. Alrighty then.
“We don’t play a game for 100 days,” McDaniels said regarding Garoppolo’s absence from OTAs. That is true. But, even if Garoppolo is ready for training camp and Week 1, it’s fair to question what his durability might look like. Garoppolo has missed 35 potential starts since 2016 with various injuries. A Shoulder sprain, ACL tear, high ankle sprain (two), calf injury, sprained thumb, torn shoulder capsule, and a broken foot have kept Garoppolo out of action in recent years.
Since Jimmy Garoppolo entered the NFL, he’s played a full season just once, in 2019.
Turning 32 this season, it’s not likely that Garoppolo is going to discover the durability that has eluded him through the first nine seasons of his NFL career. Playing behind a middle-of-the-pack offensive line in Vegas won’t help him realize that durability, either.
So, the season might be 100 days away, but Jimmy Garoppolo’s absence from OTAs can’t be chalked up as the non-story that Josh McDaniels is trying to make it.
As Expected, Josh Jacobs isn’t at OTAs
Running back Josh Jacobs wasn’t in attendance either. Of course, that wasn’t a surprise. With Jacobs not signing the franchise tag yet, he isn’t permitted to participate in this portion of the offseason program.
At the Pro Bowl in February, Jacobs said he would be the “hero turned villain” if the Raiders went that route. He’s stayed true to that. The Raiders and Jacobs still have time to reach an extension. If Jacobs signs the tender, he will have until July 17 to work out a long-term contract extension with the Raiders. Jacobs must play out the season on the one-year tender if that deadline passes.
The star running back, whom the Raiders drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, represented the Raiders and the AFC at the Pro Bowl Games after rushing for a league-high 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022. Jacobs and the Raiders were set to resume contract negotiations after the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, nothing has materialized since that point.
