Quarterbacks who, despite currently being under contract for 2024, are candidates to be cut before next season begins. Understanding the risks and opportunities of the four quarterbacks below is important.
Related -- see quarterbacks who should be free agents before the 2024 season >>>
Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas
Jimmy Garoppolo signed a three-year, 72.75-million-dollar contract with the Raiders in March. The contract contains only 33.75 million dollars in guaranteed salary, with only $11.25 in salary in 2024 guaranteed beyond the 2023 season. Garoppolo has a roster bonus of $11.25 million dollars due on the third day of the league year in 2024, so his status with the team should be clear in March of 2024. The team was in the market for a trade-up for Bryce Young in the 2023 NFL Draft but passed on the position after Young was selected with the first pick in the draft. The team could struggle this season and put the Josh McDaniels era in jeopardy. Raiders have optionality if Garoppolo struggles to stay healthy for a full season, and the team could be a candidate to select a quarterback high in the 2024 draft if Garoppolo is a disappointment in 2023.
Jared Goff, Detroit
Jared Goff was traded to Detroit as part of the Matthew Stafford deal in 2021, and the team has not spent significant draft compensation on quarterbacks since then. Goff has a team-friendly contract in 2023 and 2024, counting just below 31 and 32 million dollars each of the next two seasons. Goff will count only 13.7% and 12.5%. Despite consistent media speculation, the team has committed to Goff despite multiple opportunities to go another route at the position for three straight offseasons. Goff lead the league in expected points added from Week 10 through Week 18, which was likely the best stretch of his career. The team will save nearly 27 million dollars if Detroit cuts him in 2024 with only a 5-million-dollar cap hit. While Goff is a cut candidate, he may also be an extension candidate as the team has reportedly opened a dialog with the quarterback. That said, a disastrous 2023 could take a potential deal off the table.
Matthew Stafford, LA Rams
Matthew Stafford has a 20-million-dollar cap hit in 2023 that jumps up to 49.5 million dollars in 2024, 50.5 million dollars in 2025, and 49.5 million dollars in 2026. Stafford is guaranteed 31 million dollars in salary in 2024, and the team would take a dead-money hit of 86.5 million dollars if they cut him before June 1. However, the team could drop the cap hit to 49.5 million dollars if they cut him with a post-June-1 designation in 2024. Stafford was a disappointment in 2022 with an elbow injury and spinal contusion that held him to only nine games played. The team is tied with Tampa Bay, Houston, and Indianapolis as the second-worst win total at 6.5 wins, and if Stafford does not bounce back in a major way, he could be expendable with the Rams projected to pick very early in an NFL draft class with a strong quarterback class.
Geno Smith, Seattle
Geno Smith, like Jimmy Garoppolo, signed a team-friendly middle-of-the-market contract. Smith signed a three-year, $75 million dollar contract with 27.3 million dollars in guaranteed money. 26.1 million dollars of the guaranteed money is in the form of a signing bonus, with the other 1.2 million dollars worth of guarantees in his 2023 salary. Smith has no guaranteed money after 2023, and the team could save 13.8 million dollars of Smith’s 31.2-million-dollar cap hit in 2024. Seattle has DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and 2023 first-round draft pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba to go with running backs Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet along with Noah Fant at tight end, giving Smith a very good set of supporting players. Smith’s contract allowed the Seahawks the flexibility to draft a quarterback, but they passed in the 2023 class, leaving Smith in a strong position for the 2023 season.
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