Did Jimmy Garoppolo take shot at 49ers, Raiders while discussing re-signing with Rams?

While the days of quarterback-needy teams hoping that Jimmy Garoppolo could become a franchise savior are now in the past, some within the NFL community were surprised he decided to re-sign with the Los Angeles Rams to remain their backup behind Matthew Stafford when at least one other club likely would've given Garoppolo an opportunity to compete for a starting job this summer. 

On Wednesday, Garoppolo explained his decision and seemingly took a shot at one of his former employers in the process. 

"It’s really more about the situation than the opportunity," Garoppolo said, as shared by Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. "There were some opportunities. But I’ve been in a bad organization and I’ve seen how it can wear on you throughout the year. Just talking to my brothers, my family, didn’t want to go through that again." 

Garoppolo served mostly as a QB2 behind Tom Brady with the New England Patriots from 2014 up until New England traded Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers in the fall of 2017. He helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV, a game San Francisco lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2020, but Garoppolo's working relationship with head coach Kyle Shanahan reportedly was never the same after the Niners spent the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft on Trey Lance. 

Garoppolo ultimately lost the San Francisco starting job for good to 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy, and Garoppolo then signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2023. That experiment didn't work out well for anybody involved, as Garoppolo was benched in favor of Aidan O'Connell in the fall of that year. 

It was later reported that "Garoppolo had a reputation for being aloof in San Francisco" and that "some of those problems carried over to Vegas, where a group that knew him, led by (general manager) Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels, had hoped he’d grow out of some of those tendencies." 

Garoppolo now sounds happy to exist as a second-choice option behind Stafford with a Rams team that notched a playoff win this past January. 

"Once you get to this point in your career," the 33-year-old added, "you start getting older and you’ve seen a couple things, you start to enjoy the little things. Life is short, so might as well enjoy it." 

Garoppolo enjoys being with what he considers a good organization, even if individuals running that franchise hope he doesn't take a meaningful in-game snap anytime soon.