NFL

Jimmy Garoppolo’s Raiders deal creates quarterback middle class

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Published March 13, 2023
Updated March 13, 2023, 7:18 p.m. ET

Whether he is playing for the Patriots, 49ers or Raiders, Jimmy Garoppolo just seems destined to live in Tom Brady’s shadow.

Garoppolo, the top quarterback available in free agency despite the 49ers’ two-year plan to upgrade over him, wasted no time finding a new home Monday by agreeing with the Raiders on a three-year, $67.5 million contract that includes $34 million guaranteed, according to reports.

The deal was done within the first two hours of the legal-tampering negotiation window.

The $22.5 million per year average establishes a new quarterback middle class, as Garoppolo’s contract has the 17th-highest average annual value and is distanced at one end from the nine quarterbacks averaging $40 million per year and at the other from the bevy of youngsters earning less than $10 million per year on wage-scaled rookie deals.

The thought around the league is that the Raiders initially were eyeing Brady — who built a tight relationship with head coach Josh McDaniels during their decade-plus together as quarterback and offensive play-caller for the Patriots — when they surprisingly decided to move on from Derek Carr late last season.

But Brady retired from the Buccaneers instead of pursuing free agency, leaving the Raiders to pivot to another McDaniels protégé and former Brady backup for the Patriots.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo warms up prior to an NFL football
Jimmy Garoppolo will reunite with coach Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. AP

With Carr joining the Saints, and Daniel Jones and Geno Smith re-signing to Giants and Seahawks, respectively, before free agency opened, the Raiders’ options were thinning by the minute.

They opted not to join the Aaron Rodgers trade sweepstakes despite receiver Davante Adams’ wish, and it looks increasingly likely that at least three of the four consensus first-round quarterbacks in the upcoming draft will be selected within the first four picks by the Panthers, Texans and Colts.

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It is possible that the four quarterbacks are all gone within the top five picks, especially if there is a trade in the No. 3 or No. 5 position.

The Raiders, who pick No. 7, still could add a rookie to a competition with Garoppolo if they are emboldened to trade up.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) passes against New Orleans Saints
Garoppolo’s 49ers tenure was marred by injuries and highlighted by a Super Bowl appearance. AP

Garoppolo’s signing took another alternative off the board for the Jets, who, like the Packers, are being held hostage by Rodgers’ indecisiveness about his future.

If Rodgers decides to retire or not facilitate a trade, the Jets would likely have to pivot to making a megadeal offer to Lamar Jackson (that the Ravens could match) and willingness to lose two first-round draft picks to Baltimore, or to signing one of the next best-free agent quarterbacks.

The uninspiring crop includes former starters Carson Wentz, Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett, Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater and Baker Mayfield.

Garoppolo is 40-17 as a starter — the first two of which were in place of Brady under McDaniels’ watch — but his six years with the 49ers were plagued by injuries as much as they were highlighted by a trip to Super Bowl 2020 and another to a second NFC Championship game.

In 2020, Brady, who grew up as a 49ers fan, flirted with a free-agent homecoming but the 49ers stuck with Garoppolo before the GOAT landed with the Buccaneers and won a seventh Super Bowl.

The 49ers are moving forward with Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, and Brock Purdy, who is coming off elbow surgery, as their top two quarterbacks.

Lance started the season and Purdy finished it, with Garoppolo starting 10 games in the middle before a season-ending broken foot.