The Las Vegas Raiders have decided to bench Jimmy Garoppolo after they fired former head coach Josh McDaniels, and all indications are that they are planning to move on from the veteran quarterback.
Garoppolo signed a 3-year, $72.75 million contract with the Raiders last offseason. The deal includes $45 million in guarantees, $33.75 million of which was paid at signing. The remaining $11.25 million would become fully guaranteed if Garoppolo were on Las Vegas’ roster on the third day of the NFL league year in 2024. The $11.25 million is also guaranteed for injury, which is likely the big concern for the Raiders.
As Ari Meirov notes, the remaining $11.25 in guaranteed money would have to be paid out if Garoppolo cannot pass a physical by the start of the new league year on March 13. That is why it is in the Raiders’ best interest to make sure Garoppolo stays healthy for the remainder of the season.
Jimmy Garoppolo has $11.25M fully-guaranteed for next season. He has another $11.25M that becomes fully-guaranteed if he can't pass a physical by March 17th.
The #Raiders benching him is to prevent that money from triggering, just like they did last year when they benched Derek… https://t.co/ffoQUlTB3Q
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 1, 2023
We saw almost the exact same situation play out last year before the Raiders moved on from Derek Carr. The quarterback had an even bigger injury guarantee, so Las Vegas benched him in order to avoid the risk of having to pay that.
Of course, it does not help Garoppolo’s cause that he has played poorly. He somehow missed one throw during Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions that would have resulted in an easy touchdown (video here). Garoppolo also had a history with McDaniels dating back to when the two were with the New England Patriots, and McDaniels is no longer in the picture.
Rookie Aidan O’Connell will start for the Raiders against the New York Giants on Sunday. Barring something unexpected, we would not expect to see Garoppolo again this season.
