In March of 2023, the Las Vegas Raiders signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year, $67.5 million contract. One year later, almost to the day, that experiment ended when the team officially released the 32-year-old — a decision that may have been influenced by his failed on-field relationship with wide receiver Davante Adams.
The rapport, or lack thereof, between Garoppolo and Adams was the focal point of an episode on the newly released Netflix docuseries “Receivers.”
Throughout the episode, Adams was shown becoming more and more frustrated with Garoppolo. He griped about hospital passes before completely blowing his top when Jimmy G missed him wide open down the field.
Beware of some bad language.
when I tell you the Raiders nearly killed him https://t.co/ODXlHfs1Dk pic.twitter.com/c9mADPqG4z
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 13, 2024
“I gotta get the (expletive) out of here before I lose my (expletive) life,” Adams says. “I ain’t never been hit this many (expletive) times in my career. Every game I get (expletive) up.”
In Week 9 of the 2023 regular season, under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, the Raiders pulled the plug on Garoppolo and inserted rookie Aidan O’Connell as their starting quarterback.
Adams revealed that the move came with his stamp of approval.
“Well my opinion on that, was I signed off on that. And that’s just the reality of it,” Adams said, as transcribed by The Sporting News. “You know, I love Jimmy and he’s a great guy, but something had to happen in order for us to have a stretch and in order for me to remain a Raider, in all honesty.”
If Adams remains with the Raiders — something that has recently come under question — he believes O’Connell should get the starting nod over veteran Gardner Minshew.
“I want whoever is going to look the best when it’s live bullets,” Adams said. “I think right now if I had to say, I think Aidan has the job because obviously he was here before and that’s the way that it was. He was running with the one’s more and until Gardner comes in and takes the job away from him, I think it’s Aidan’s job right now.”
Meanwhile, six days after being released by the Raiders, Garoppolo signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams. He’ll be suspended for the first two games of the regular season after violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.
