Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is not participating in the team’s OTA practices this week as he continues to recover from a left foot injury he suffered late in the season, coach Josh McDaniels said Thursday. While McDaniels declined to discuss specifics, team and league sources said Garoppolo had surgery in March after signing with the Raiders. His recovery timeline from that procedure is unknown, though McDaniels acknowledged he “could” be out until at least training camp.
“He’s going through his process like we knew he would,” McDaniels said Thursday. “Nothing happened that would surprise us based on the information we have.”
Here’s what you need to know:
- Garoppolo first suffered the left foot injury on December 6, 2022 while playing for the 49ers. San Francisco feared he suffered a Lisfranc fracture — which required surgery — but 49ers team doctors determined it was a different type of fracture that did not require surgery and had a recovery timeline of about two months.
- Based on that, Garoppolo — who is pushing for a potential return if the 49ers reach the Super Bowl — should be fully healthy by the time he agrees to terms with the Raiders on March 13. The first indication that something might be wrong came when Garoppolo arrived at team headquarters in Henderson, Nev., to sign his contract on March 16, but left the facility without doing so.
- When Garoppolo signed a day later and held his introductory news conference, he didn’t reveal the reason behind the delay or give a clear update on the status of his foot injury. But according to a league source, the Raiders discovered during Garoppolo’s physical that his foot actually needed surgery and the procedure was performed after his introduction.
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What is the level of concern?
The feeling is that the Raiders are not concerned with Garoppolo’s readiness for the start of the regular season in September.
“We don’t play for 100 days,” McDaniels said Thursday. “Everything that happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew in advance. … Certainly aware of all this. Our preference is not to push it and rush anyone back at this point in time.
Still, considering Garoppolo’s history, the injury situation remains a concern.
Since Garoppolo became the starter after being traded from the Patriots to the 49ers in 2017, he has missed 31 regular-season games and suffered three season-ending injuries. The Raiders had that context and still felt comfortable enough to give him a three-year, $72.75 million contract with $33.75 million in total guarantees, but now he’s set to miss time again before he even plays. a snap for them. That further delayed his chance to develop chemistry with star receiver Davante Adams and the team’s other offensive weapons.
Even if he’s ready to go in time for Week 1, it’s fair to question whether he can last the entire season. The Raiders view Brian Hoyer as a viable backup and believe in Aidan O’Connell’s long-term upside, considering they traded up to draft him in the fourth round last month, but didn’t it’s unlikely that either player will come close to matching Garoppolo’s projected production this season. If Garoppolo’s injury issues continue, the Raiders offense will struggle.
Backstory
Asked during his introduction if he was worried about the Raiders deal going through, Garoppolo said he had “no worries” and called the process “very collaborative.”
Garoppolo said his goal is to “get the Silver and Black back where it should be.”
The veteran, asked if he expected to be Las Vegas’ “long-term” starter, said he “went in with the mindset that (he had) to win everything.” He added, “I don’t want to give anyone ‘you’re the franchise guy,’ or whatever. I want to come in and make money.”
When asked if he still has something to prove in his career, Garoppolo replied: “Hell yeah. I’m trying to win the Super Bowl. I know every player says that when they come to their first press conference, but that’s my goal.
Required reading
(Photo: Candice Ward / USA Today)
