The Las Vegas Raiders may not have given Jimmy Garoppolo the best birthday present this year, but that did not stop them from acknowledging the quarterback’s big day. You can probably guess how that went over with fans.
Garoppolo on Thursday celebrated his 32nd birthday. The person in charge of running the Raiders’ official X account shared a photo of the veteran and asked fans to “Join us in wishing Jimmy Garoppolo Happy Birthday!”
Join us in wishing Jimmy Garoppolo Happy Birthday!#RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/48KY8lowy5
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 2, 2023
The timing was less than ideal, of course. After they fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler on Monday, the Raiders then decided to bench Garoppolo. Rookie Aidan O’Connell will start under center on Sunday against the New York Giants
The Raiders were absolutely torched over the “happy birthday” tweet. Most people joked that the team bought Garoppolo a bench for his birthday.
The Raiders social team pressing send: pic.twitter.com/hrVH9PtkTx
— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) November 2, 2023
They got him a bench for his birthday pic.twitter.com/YdHSnOlt5u
— VΞRDICT4489 (@Verdict4489) November 2, 2023
Jimmy's gift from the Raiders pic.twitter.com/eSy49TyacB
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) November 2, 2023
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 2, 2023
Happy birthday, Jimmy – Vegas Raiders pic.twitter.com/ixb9dTtBlx
— Morning Huddle (@MorningHuddleUp) November 2, 2023
— Gilberts #2 fan (@TheKpd) November 2, 2023
Garoppolo somehow missed one throw during Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions that would have resulted in an easy touchdown (video here). While that is not the only reason the Raiders cleaned house and benched him, it certainly did not help his cause.
But hey, at least Garoppolo still got his birthday wishes.
