Rams agree on deal with Jimmy Garoppolo to be backup quarterback
The Rams found their backup Friday for star quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Jimmy Garoppolo, cut this week by the Las Vegas Raiders, agreed to terms with the Rams, people with knowledge of the situation said. The people requested anonymity because a contract has not been signed.
Garoppolo, 32, gives the Rams a veteran who has proven he can help win NFL games.
The 10-year veteran began his career with the New England Patriots and played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the Raiders in March 2023.
In the 2019 season, Garoppolo led the 49ers to the Super Bowl. He mostly bedeviled the Rams during his time with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
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Garoppolo has passed for 94 touchdowns, with 51 interceptions, during a career marked by knee, shoulder and foot injuries, among others. Last season, Garoppolo played in seven games. He passed for seven touchdowns, with nine interceptions.
Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy.
Last season, the Rams finished 10-7 and made the playoffs but a team expected to be among Super Bowl contenders was in need of a dependable backup quarterback.
Last year, the Rams selected former Georgia star Stetson Bennett in the fourth round of the NFL draft to be Stafford’s backup and possible successor. Before the season, however, Bennett was placed on the non-football injury/illness list because of an undisclosed condition. He has not been part of the team since, and coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have not given an indication that he would return.
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With Stafford sidelined for a game against the Green Bay Packers, backup Brett Rypien played poorly and was subsequently released.
The Rams signed veteran Carson Wentz, who led the Rams to a victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the season finale, though it was a game in which many starters from both teams were held out to rest for the playoffs.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
