Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is being suspended by the NFL for two games for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Substances Policy, league sources told ESPN.
Jimmy Garoppolo Suspended as Time With Las Vegas Comes to an End
According to sources, the policy violation is related to Garoppolo using a prescribed medication without having a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption from the league.
Garoppolo will not appeal the suspension and will miss the first two games of the 2024 season, but it is not expected to be with the Raiders, per sources.
The Raiders are expected to release Garoppolo before the fifth day of the new league year in mid-March when he would earn an $11.25 million roster bonus.
Rather than pay the roster bonus, the Raiders prefer to move on from Garoppolo. The quarterback signed a three-year, $72.75 million contract that included $33.75 million guaranteed with Las Vegas last March, less than one year ago, when Josh McDaniels was the team’s head coach and Dave Ziegler the general manager.
The Raiders will be looking to add another quarterback in the draft, with some believing that Las Vegas could trade up from the No. 13 overall pick that it currently holds.
Once the Raiders officially release Garoppolo, the two quarterbacks on their roster would be last year’s rookie Aidan O’Connell and veteran Brian Hoyer.
The 32-year-old Garoppolo now is expected to be looking for his third team in as many seasons, after playing for the San Francisco 49ers in 2022 before he left to sign as a free agent with the Raiders in 2023.
Under NFL rules, he will be allowed to participate in all offseason activities and training camp with any team he signs with, but once the regular season begins, he will be barred from his new team for two weeks due to the suspension.
On social media, NFL fans had plenty to say about the suspension and the unfortunate ending for Garoppolo’s time in Las Vegas.
Garoppolo was benched by Las Vegas after the midseason firing of McDaniels after poor performance.
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. This led to him being benched in favor of the rookie fourth-rounder O’Connell.
“Jimmy Garoppolo used PEDs and still got benched for a 4th round pick,” one user said on X.
“Jimmy Garoppolo had more interceptions than touchdowns this year while taking PEDs,” another pointed out.
“Jimmy Garoppolo Era lasted for 6 games crazy,” another posted.
Garoppolo spent four seasons as the backup to Tom Brady in New England and watched on as the Patriots won Super Bowl 49 and Super Bowl 51.
He was then traded to the 49ers and led them to a championship game of their own — Super Bowl 54, which they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the 2022 season, Garoppolo was initially benched before taking over for an injured Trey Lance. Garoppolo started for San Francisco from Week 3 to Week 13 when he too went down with a foot injury.
KEEP READING: Why Was Jimmy Garoppolo Suspended? NFL Insider Reports Raiders QB Violated NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substance Policy
In Las Vegas, Garoppolo was benched for O’Connell following a mediocre 3-5 start to the season.
As new leadership takes place in head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco, the team is ready to move on at the position — whether that means O’Connell starts the season under center or they use the No. 13 overall pick in the upcoming draft on a different quarterback.
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