LAS VEGAS — When the Las Vegas Raiders initially announced the signing of veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a delay in his introductory press conference was ultimately overlooked as nothing significant. However, a recent report from Mike Florio indicates the delay stemmed from a failed physical by Garoppolo due to a left foot injury suffered in Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season.
The Raiders reworked Jimmy G's contract to include an addendum that allows the team to sign him even after a failed physical, with the understanding they can terminate the agreement for any reason related to his left foot injury.
If Garoppolo passes a physical or is on the active roster at any point in 2023 the waiver becomes null and void.
Still, signing a quarterback to be the new face of the franchise who now may not even play in 2023 is a bad look for the team, especially without much of a backup plan behind Garoppolo on the active roster.
Locked on NFL hosts Luke Braun and Lorin Cox discussed a variety of Raiders related topics on the latest episode, including surprise that the team didn't try to add another quarterback in light of Garoppolo's injury.
"It's important to keep in mind, when they decided in the NFL draft to not trade up for a quarterback, they knew about this," Cox said. "It wasn't like 'if only they had known they would have traded up'. They knew."
The Raiders did select Aidan O'Connell out of Purdue in the fourth round, and he is currently third on the depth chart behind Garoppolo and veteran Brian Hoyer - who would start for Las Vegas if Garoppolo ends up getting waived or is still hurt.
Still, for a team looking to make a splash in Sin City after moving on from coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr, putting all their eggs into the Jimmy G basket - knowing full well his foot injury caused a failed physical - is a decision that could come back to haunt this team if they don't get any production from the 31-year-old signal caller.