We all knew there would be a few teams in the market for a quarterback this offseason, and after the release of Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders jumped near the top of that list. Josh McDaniels has a vision for his offense, so reuniting with Jimmy Garoppolo makes sense. The two worked together for three years in New England, and that connection should make for a fast transition in Las Vegas.
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Contract Terms
The Raiders gave Garoppolo three years for $67.5 million, with $34 million guaranteed.
Fantasy Impact
Garoppolo will immediately slot in as the starting quarterback for Las Vegas. This prediction was easy, as he's currently the only quarterback on the team. Last year, the Raiders threw the ball 586 times, good enough for 11th-most in the league. Derek Carr was the No. 17 quarterback in fantasy over 15 games with that volume.
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Garoppolo played in 11 games for the 49ers before breaking his foot in December. Over that time, he was the 20th-ranked fantasy quarterback and not far behind Carr on a fantasy points-per-game basis, despite throwing the ball five fewer times per game.
Looking at their statistics from last year, Garoppolo was far more accurate than Carr, completing 67% of his passes. This is likely a significant reason behind this change. McDaniels wants an efficient offense that keeps possession of the football. Carr also had eight more interceptions than Garoppolo.
This change shouldn't make a massive difference for the receiving targets on the Raiders. Davante Adams is an elite receiver, and while there were questions about his ability to remain in the Top 5 with the uncertainty at quarterback, Garoppolo puts those worries to bed. In addition, Garoppolo's knowledge of this tight end-friendly offense should lead to an immediate rapport with Darren Waller and keep him in the top-7 discussion in fantasy tight end rankings. We could even see a bounceback for Hunter Renfrow if he takes over the full-time slot role.
Fantasy Fallout
It was a virtual certainty that Garoppolo would not return to the 49ers. San Francisco still has questions at the position, but either Trey Lance or Brock Purdy will answer them. The loss of Garoppolo removes a veteran leader from the fold, but they will get that back with the signing of Sam Darnold.
Stock Watch
Jimmy Garoppolo is, and almost always has been, a safe QB2 in multi-quarterback leagues and a fun streaming option in 1-QB leagues. However, you are not happily opening your fantasy season with him as your starter. With weapons like Davante Adams and Darren Waller, plus the likelihood that the Raiders will add another solid wide receiver, there will be big weeks for Garoppolo but expect a finish outside starting fantasy production.
