After benching and releasing veteran quarterback Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders will have Jimmy Garoppolo under center for the 2023 season.
Garoppolo played nine seasons in the NFL, and he spent his last six seasons as the San Francisco 49ers’ starting signal-caller.
To shore up the depth behind Garoppolo, the Raiders are reportedly looking to Blaine Gabbert, another former 49ers QB, and they reportedly visited him recently.
The Raiders hosted free agent QB Blaine Gabbert.
The team also re-signed OL Hroniss Grasu.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 18, 2023
Gabber was the Niners’ starting QB in 2014, 2015 and 2016, right before Garoppolo arrived in the Bay Area in a trade with the New England Patriots during the 2017 season.
Since leaving San Francisco, Gabber has played with three other teams: the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In Tampa Bay, Gabber has protected Tom Brady the last three seasons, just as Garoppolo did in his first two and a half seasons in New England.
The Raiders were seen by many as Super Bowl contenders going into last season, but they blew a huge opportunity in a big way, blowing multiple sizable leads and losing several close games.
They finished just 6-11, which seemed to necessitate a change at the quarterback position.
Las Vegas has Davante Adams, who might be the best wide receiver in football, as well as Josh Jacobs, who had a great 2022 campaign and remains franchised.
The team hasn’t won a playoff game since reaching the Super Bowl in 2002, and it hasn’t won the Vince Lombardi Trophy since 1983 when it was based in Los Angeles.
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The Raiders and Jimmy Garoppolo are making it official