Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo made his official debut with the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in the team’s Week 2 preseason game against the Rams.
Even though the 31-year-old only played for 5 minutes in the team’s opening drive, he left supporters and detractors praising his performance.
The Raiders ended up winning the game by a 34-17 score.
Garoppolo’s performance
The last time the NFL saw Garoppolo play was in Week 13 of last season when the quarterback suffered a season-ending foot injury that led to the player leaving San Francisco and landing with the Raiders a few months after.
Fast forward to Saturday when the quarterback finally went on the field for Las Vegas.
Garoppolo, who has been in the news due to some underwhelming outings during training camp, looked sharp under command leading the Raiders to an opening-drive touchdown that would become the only points scored in the first quarter by either team.
In total, Jimmy G went 4-4 for 39 yards passing which gave the quarterback a 107.3 rating for his 5 minutes on the field.
Garoppolo’s longest completion was an 18-yard pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers that put Las Vegas in the red zone.
The Raiders’ full drive was 68 yards long and ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Brandon Bolden.
Even though the quarterback managed to complete all his passes, his placing of the ball left still needs improving to give his receiving corps the best chance of being successful against opponents in the extremely competitive AFC West.
What’s next for Jimmy G?
Garoppolo’s debut was short-lived, but what it lacked in minutes it made up in the satisfaction of seeing the veteran out on the field looking healthy and poised leading the Black and Silver offense.
While there are kinks to work out, with his debut out of the way, the team can concentrate on improving details ahead of the regular season.
Jimmy G will enter his 10th season in the NFL with a surgically repaired foot but he has the Raiders’ confidence of being the quarterback able to take the team to the playoffs for the third time in the last 20 years (2016, 2021).
In order to do so, the veteran, who already knows what it takes to become a champion (2014, 2017) after spending 3 seasons as Tom Brady’s backup in New England, would need to display incredible leadership of his new offense, like the one he showed in 2019, when against all odds and a knee injury, he took the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV.
Jimmy’s next chance to show his current level will be next week when the Raiders finish up their preseason on Saturday in Dallas against the Cowboys.
After Week 2’s successful outing, it is a sure thing Garoppolo will be on the field for more than 5 minutes. It will be interesting to see how he does facing one of the league’s best defenses led by defensive end Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and Stephon Gilmore.
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