New Los Angeles Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo arrived at the team’s facilities Tuesday to officially sign his one-year deal, agreed upon Friday.
A team source said Garoppolo passed his physical. The former San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders starter will also serve a two-game suspension to start the 2024 season, but he can participate in offseason and preseason activities with the team.
“Just messed up the T.U.E, really,” said Garoppolo, referring to the NFL’s “Therapeutic Use Exemption” policy. Players may get this exemption for certain banned substances. Garoppolo’s suspension was for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy. He has not appealed the decision.
“That was … I hate to joke about it, but I just messed up the T.U.E. when I first got to Las Vegas. … Bad timing, I guess.”
Garoppolo, 32, was released by the Raiders less than a year after he signed a three-year contract with the franchise. He started six games, missing Week 4 and Week 7 in 2023 with injuries. He previously started 55 games for the 49ers from 2017-22, before he was supplanted by current starter Brock Purdy.
A conversation with Rams coach Sean McVay as free agency began convinced Garoppolo to sign with the team over others he was in discussions with. Garoppolo also has previously worked with tight ends coach/pass game coordinator Nick Caley and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur from his time in New England and San Francisco, among other assistants currently on the Rams’ staff.
“Rams came in about midway through and I fell in love with the place,” he said. “They were straight to the point, very professional — which I appreciated — and there was no messing around. Excited to be here, it’s gonna be fun.”
In Los Angeles, Garoppolo alluded to getting a fresh start.
“I’m excited to start this new journey,” he said. “I don’t exactly know what is in store for me, ‘re-set,’ ‘re-invent,’ whatever you want to call it. I’m just excited to get back on the football field and start slinging it around with some new guys. I love football.”
In 2022 and 2023, the Rams brought in former first-round picks to back up an injured Matthew Stafford. Baker Mayfield, who played in five games for the Rams (and started four) in 2022, has since earned a starting role and contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carson Wentz, who was signed halfway through 2023 and started (and won) the Rams’ Week 18 game at San Francisco, remains a free agent.
“What Baker did, that was tremendous. Incredible,” said Garoppolo. “Sean is a phenomenal offensive mind. A lot of the guys around here are. I think that played a big part in ‘re-inventing’ — whatever you want to call it — a quarterback. Having good people around you, it’s not all going to be done by you. You have to have people around you to put you in a good position, call the right plays, all of those little things. I saw this opportunity, and I got excited. It just seemed right.”
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(Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images)
