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Las Vegas Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
After just two years with the team, the San Francisco 49ers gave up on former No. 3 pick Trey Lance and traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick. A big reason Jimmy Garoppolo is now with the Las Vegas Raiders is due to the Lance draft pick.
Garoppolo has avoided stirring up drama with the 49ers since it was clear he wasn’t a part of their future plans, but now that he’s away from the team, he can speak a bit more freely. He came out and took a bit of a shot at the 49ers over how they’ve handled the quarterback position in recent years.
“Weird situation,” Garoppolo told Sports Illustrated in an August 29 interview. “Been a lot of weird situations over there in San Francisco. I’ll just leave it at that. But I’m happy Trey got another shot. I’m happy he’s getting to Dallas, gets another opportunity and hopefully things work out there.”
Lance was brought in to replace Garoppolo until he replaced Lance last season following an injury. Garoppolo was then replaced by Brock Purdy, who has now replaced both Garoppolo and Lance. The 49ers appear to lack stability at quarterback right now so they’ll be a team to watch early in the season.
Jimmy Garoppolo Rooting for Trey Lance
Jimmy Garoppolo has worked closely with Trey Lance over the past two years. Despite the fact that Lance was brought in to take his starting quarterback job, Garoppolo developed a bond with him. Though Lance is off to a rough start to his career and has only been able to play in eight games, Garoppolo is hoping that he can turn things around.
“This is a weird league. Everyone has a different story how they get to places, myself included in that,” Garoppolo said. “It’s never a straight line. There’s always going to be bumps in the road and some things you have to overcome and I think Trey is made of the right stuff, he’s a good dude. I love that guy. He’s a brother to me so I’m always pulling for him.”
Jimmy Garoppolo Praises WR Corps
Jimmy Garoppolo spent the last six years with the 49ers so moving to the Raiders will be an adjustment. He also missed organized team activities as he recovered from foot surgery. As he continues to get more comfortable with the team, he’s been impressed with the wide receiver corps.
“The receiving corps as a whole has really impressed me,” Garoppolo said. “Those guys, they get the little details, they’re all tied in together. Really they share information with each other which is really cool to talk about how they ran a route, try to teach the younger guys. Tre (Tucker) is really catching on with those guys and learning from the more experienced guys. That group as a whole has really impressed me, it’s been a good group to work with.”
Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow form one of the best wide receiver trios in the NFL. Garoppolo played with some very good wide receivers in San Francisco but never a group that is as deep as the Raiders’. That should make things a lot easier for Garoppolo this season.
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. Born and raised in Los Angeles, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd
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