It did not come as a surprise that Jimmy Garoppolo left the San Francisco 49ers, and maybe it should not surprise anyone that he ended up with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Garoppolo was introduced by the Raiders on Friday after a one-day delay due to some contract details.
In Las Vegas, he reunites with Josh McDaniels, the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator for the first three seasons of his career.
"Oh yeah," Garoppolo said Friday when asked if the Raiders were on his radar as he approached free agency after five seasons with the 49ers. "Right off the bat actually, one of my agents gave me the first list of teams, Raiders were right up there. I have the familiarity with Josh, Dave [Ziegler]. All that played a role."
The Raiders gave Garoppolo a three-year, $67.5million contract, including $34m in guaranteed money.
"I'm coming in with the mindset that I need to earn everything – I don't want to be given any 'You're the franchise guy' or whatever," he said. "I want to come in and earn it.
"I think it will come through hard work, working with teammates, being in the facility. All those little things will play a role. But yeah, I don't want to be given anything; I want to earn it.
"Just because I’m the quarterback, I'm not the leader because of that. I want to be the leader because guys respect me and believe in me… I think it will happen naturally. I don't want to force anything, be inauthentic. I just want to be myself and it's done me well in the past."
Garoppolo joins a Raiders team coming off a 6-11 season, but with an offense that includes wide receivers Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow as well as running back Josh Jacobs.
"Whenever you've got skill position guys like that, the run after catch, I'm a big believer," Garoppolo said. "I think if you give them an accurate ball, if you've got the right guys that can make a play – and we seem to have the right guys here."
While Garoppolo is familiar with McDaniels and his offense, it’s been a while since he worked with him. He acknowledged he will have to relearn the language of the offense.
"Basically like going Spanish to French," he said. "It won’t take long but Josh's offense, obviously, has evolved over the years and you've just got to pick it up as quickly as possible. But we'll be fine."
He made the point of saying he wants to take the Raiders to the Super Bowl championship.
"I know every player says that when they come up to their first press conference, but that’s my goal," Garoppolo said. "I want to go get a ring, get the silver and black back to where it should be. I know it's not an easy process. I went through it in San Francisco, lower end of the field when I first got there."
Dolphins team-mate Jackson 'crushed' as Tagovailoa suffers another concussion
Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson said he was "crushed" after seeing Tua Tagovailoa suffer another concussion in Thursday's loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Dolphins were beaten 31-10 at Hard Rock Stadium, with Tagovailoa throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions before his third-quarter exit.
Tagovailoa collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin on a fourth-down keeper before hitting the back of his head on the turf, staying down for two minutes as several Dolphins players crowded around him.
The quarterback was able to walk to the locker room but was swiftly ruled out as Skylar Thompson finished the game in his place, throwing for 80 yards and no scores.
Tagovailoa previously suffered two concussions during the 2022 season, when the NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into how one of Tagovailoa's injuries was handled.
Asked about the mood in the Miami locker room after the game, Jackson said: "Crushed. I hate to see him like that. Even with his history already with that type of stuff, I hate to see it.
"I hate that it was him rushing out of the pocket. Wish I could get that back for all of us. I could have been better."
Tagovailoa previously missed two games after being concussed in a 2022 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, then was shut down for the rest of the season when he sustained another concussion in a Christmas Day meeting with the Green Bay Packers.
Coach Mike McDaniel was in no mood to think about the timeline of his recovery after the game, saying: "Right now it is more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time.
"The furthest thing from my mind is what the timeline is. We just need to evaluate him and I just worry about my team-mate.
"We'll get more information tomorrow and then take it day by day from there."
McDaniel added Tagovailoa's past head injuries will not inform the way Miami handle his latest blow, saying: "I think it's important to approach each and every situation with the mindset of, 'we're going to handle this particular situation with this particular player'.
"Every situation is unique. I am not worried about anything that's out of my hands, I'm just worried about the human being, and he'll drive the ship when we get the appropriate information. But it's day-by-day health, particularly with concussions."
Dolphins' Tagovailoa throws three picks before leaving with concussion in Bills' rout
Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions before leaving with a concussion and James Cook had three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills rolled to a 31-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, collided with Bills defensive back Demar Hamlin in the third quarter on a fourth-down keeper and hit the back of his head against the turf.
He remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline. Tagovailoa made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the Dolphins' locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.
Tagovailoa positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.
Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead.
Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo's opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He's 12-2 against the Dolphins and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since coach Sean McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.
Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines.
Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener.
Dolphins' Tagovailoa throws 3 interceptions before leaving with concussion in Bills' rout
Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions before leaving with a concussion and James Cook had three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills rolled to a 31-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, collided with Bills defensive back Demar Hamlin in the third quarter on a fourth-down keeper and hit the back of his head against the turf.
He remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline. Tagovailoa made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the Dolphins' locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.
Tagovailoa positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.
Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead.
Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo's opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He's 12-2 against the Dolphins and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since coach Sean McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.
Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines. Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener.
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