The Las Vegas Raiders offense is going to look vastly different in 2023 as they’ve got Jimmy Garoppolo under center now.
Garoppolo signed a three-year deal with the Raiders in free agency, reuniting with Josh McDaniels who is looking for some redemption himself. The two had success together with the New England Patriots and will be looking to recreate that in Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, the Raiders haven’t gotten a chance to see their new quarterback hit the field quite yet as he recovers from an offseason foot surgery. Fans were taken aback and wary once the news broke about Garoppolo’s foot, but it sounds like Las Vegas knew about the issue when they signed him according to Michael Lombardi via the ‘Pat McAfee Show’:
“They knew he would be ready for training camp, but he wasn’t going to be in the offseason program. This was decided back in April and so, therefore, they deferred the signing bonus until he can pass the physical, which he will and I think he’s on track to do that,” Lombardi said.
While Garoppolo has yet to show what he looks like throwing the football, he’s at least been around the team to help build some chemistry:
“I think he’s been instrumental in their team in the offseason in terms of building the camaraderie, Jimmy G has a unique ability to get people to follow him, he is really well-liked, and that his teammates like him, you could see it in San Francisco.”
Although the expectation is that Garoppolo will be ready for the start of training camp in less than two weeks, it’s still concerning that he’s already dealing with an injury before the games have even started. Garoppolo has been injury-prone throughout his career, and the latest issue could potentially derail the Raiders’ season before it begins.
For now, the only thing the organization can do is monitor Garoppolo’s health and hope he’s ready to go sooner rather than later.
Derek Carr was upset with Raiders for late-season benching
McDaniels made the controversial decision to bench Derek Carr at the end of the 2022 season due to the former Raiders’ poor play. At that moment, it felt inevitable that Carr and Las Vegas would part ways.
Now with the New Orleans Saints, Carr has a chance to prove that he wasn’t the problem for the Raiders. In fact, he had no problem letting the public know how mad he was about the late-season benching.
