When it comes to the Las Vegas Raiders general manager’s decision to sign veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, there were two major reasons why the organization immediately targeted him in NFL free agency: He’s a winner and a leader.
At the end of last season, the Las Vegas Raiders put themselves in a very difficult position. Despite franchise QBs being extremely hard to find, the organization decided that it was time to officially move on from Derek Carr as their starting quarterback after nine seasons. However, unlike what the Green Bay Packers are doing with Aaron Rodgers by replacing him with former first-round pick Jordan Love, Las Vegas did not have an obvious replacement for Carr already on the roster.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders called about 4-time NFL MVP before signing Jimmy Garoppolo
It all meant that the Las Vegas Raiders entered the offseason without much leverage because they clearly needed to find a legitimate starting-level QB in free agency or on the trade block to avoid a full-on revolt by long-time Silver-and-Black fans.
Las Vegas Raiders record (2022): 6-11, third place in AFC West
Well, in the early days of NFL free agency the Raiders found their next QB in San Francisco 49ers veteran Jimmy Garoppolo. While the signing received mixed results from fans and media, general manager Dave Ziegler told The Athletic on Sunday the decision was an easy one. He wants the Las Vegas Raiders to win next year, and “Jimmy G” has done that for the majority of his career.
“Simply put: Proven leader, proven winner. I think he’s won 70 percent of his starts. And you can caveat that with the whys and all that stuff but, at the end of the day, he was a part of winning a lot of football games. He’s a proven leader. He’s a proven winner, and the next part of that is, obviously, he’s been steeped in the offensive system that we run. And so, there’s an advantage in that, too. Simply put, that’s what it was.”
– Dave Ziegler (h/t Pro Football Talk)
In 74 games played and 57 starts during tenures with the 49ers and New England Patriots, Garoppolo has a record of 40-17. He reached two NFC Championship games and Super Bowl in the 2019 season.