Everyone saw this coming: the Las Vegas Raiders reached an agreement with free agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to come in and replace Derek Carr, reuniting Garoppolo with head coach Josh McDaniels (who he worked with on the New England Patriots way back when). ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to share news of the agreement.
We’ll see how throwing Carr to the curb and pivoting to Garoppolo works out for the Raiders, as well as for Carr and the New Orleans Saints. Garoppolo’s durability issues are well-documented. He’s missed 19 games with injuries over the last three years, and his shortcomings as a passer cost the San Francisco 49ers a Super Bowl win not too long ago. McDaniels and the Raiders are betting that they can better protect him.
As for the contract: there are conflicted reports on the details, but the base compensation appears to be a three-year deal valued at $67.5 million with between $34 and $45 million guaranteed. There’s quite a gap between that and the four-year, $150 million contract the Saints signed with Carr, as well as the guarantees involved ($60 million at signing, $100 million in total). Both teams believe these moves will make them better. We’ll check back in a year or two and compare their results.
