HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who spent his offseason recovering from a foot injury, passed his training camp physical, a league source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
Garoppolo, a source told ESPN, will go into practice “at the right pace” to start camp and “wouldn’t call him slow” after the quarterback didn’t participate in any on-field activities during the offseason training program.
Garoppolo, who joined the Raiders on a three-year, $72.75 million free agent contract on March 17, signed a waiver/release in lieu of a physical due to his injured left foot, sustained Dec. 4 while playing for the San Francisco 49ers.
His introductory press conference was postponed a day, presumably after the Raiders found foot trouble and made him sign the waiver. That day Garoppolo was asked to clarify the delay and whether injury played a role. He said, “Don’t worry.
“I mean, it was just talk, language, stuff like that. But no, I think both sides knew what we wanted to do, so it was actually very collaborative. It was just us coming together.”
Garoppolo then underwent surgery after signing with Las Vegas and was limited to classroom work with the Raiders during OTAs and minicamp. His $11.25 million signing bonus was converted into base salary to give him a base salary of $22.5 million for this season, all of which lent credence to the idea that the Raiders could release him with little to no financial impact had he failed to pass a physical before the season began.
And while fans wrung their hands over the Raiders signing an injured Garoppolo who needed surgery to replace nine-year starter Derek Carr, who was released on Feb. 14 and later signed with the New Orleans Saints, second-year Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said June 1 that he had “no anxiety” about the team’s quarterback situation.
“I don’t worry about things I can’t control,” McDaniels said at the time. “I have very good information that tells me we’re going to be okay, you know what I mean? So again, nothing has happened that would have changed that, which is why I feel that way.”
Free agent signee Brian Hoyer, who is entering his 15th NFL season and has experience in McDaniels’ system since his time with the New England Patriots, led the first-team offense during the offseason program, while Purdue’s fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell also got significant reps. The only one returning at quarterback for the Raiders is second-year player Chase Garbers, who has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.
Jarrett Stidham, who started the Raiders’ last two games after Carr was benched and left the team, signed a two-year, $10 million free agent contract with the Denver Broncos two days before Garoppolo signed with the Raiders.
In addition, the Raiders placed rookie running back Tyree Wilson, the seventh overall pick in the draft, on the non-football injured list Friday, as expected. Wilson suffered a season-ending right foot injury while playing for Texas Tech on November 21 and underwent a follow-up procedure to have his hardware removed on March 21. He, like Garoppolo, was limited to classroom work during the offseason program.
Meanwhile, third-round pick Byron Young, a defensive tackle from Alabama, was placed on the physically unable to perform list.
Raiders veterans report to camp on Tuesday with the first practice on Wednesday morning.
