Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss the first two games of next season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones has confirmed.
ESPN reports that Garoppolo’s violation related to his “using a prescribed medication without having a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption.” Garoppolo will be suspended no matter which team he is on, but that he is not expected to be back with the Raiders.
The Raiders are expected to release Garoppolo before the fifth day of the new league year in mid-March, according to Adam Schefter, so that they can avoid paying his $11.25 million roster bonus. According to Spotrac, Garoppolo’s fully guaranteed $11.25 million salary for 2024 will most likely void due to the suspension. That would mean that upon Garoppolo’s release, the Raiders would have a dead salary cap hit of $17 million and free up $10 million in cap space for 2024.
Given his experience, Garoppolo could become a sought-after backup upon release, but it seems unlikely that he would land anywhere as a starting quarterback.
Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.5 million contract with Las Vegas last offseason after spending the first nine years of his career in New England (three-plus seasons) and San Francisco (five-plus seasons). His signing was initially delayed because he needed surgery on a foot injury, but he eventually made it back into the fold for training camp.
Garoppolo managed to start only six games for the Raiders, going 3-3 while completing 65.1% of his passes at an average of 7.1 yards per attempt, with seven touchdowns against nine interceptions. Injuries and ineffectiveness led to his being benched in favor of rookie fourth-rounder Aidan O’Connell.
As for the Raiders QB situation, they will be in the market for one this offseason, potentially even trading up to select one in the 2024 NFL Draft, per NFL Media.
