With Derek Carr heading to New Orleans, Jimmy Garoppolo is arguably the top free agent quarterback left and he wants to be paid like it.
The 31-year-old Garoppolo is reportedly seeking close to the $27.5 million he was making per season as a starter with the San Francisco 49ers, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
“More teams are looking to go economical at the position after what happened on the quarterback market last year, and what (Daniel) Jones, (Geno) Smith and Carr have gotten already this year, so how this plays out for Garoppolo vs. guys like Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett will be interesting,” Breer said. “I’ve heard Garoppolo’s camp is shooting for $25 million per year. I think maybe he’ll do a deal with lower base pay but a chance to get close to there with incentives.”
Garoppolo led the 49ers to a 7-3 record while completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,437 yards, 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions before suffering a season-ending foot injury against the Miami Dolphins in December.
In seasons which he’s started 10 or more games, Garoppolo has never had a losing record and he has a .702 winning percentage as a starting QB (40-17 record).
Teams in the market for a new starting quarterback include the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons.
The Texans and Raiders are reported front-runners for Garoppolo, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. New Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans spent the last six seasons in San Francisco with Garoppolo.
Sources tell CBS Sports there's a push within the Houston #Texans building to sign veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and play him in 2023 while drafting a quarterback at some point in the first round with the plan to sit him for the year and grow. pic.twitter.com/F56hNdxYCQ
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 7, 2023
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