Getty
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Green Bay Packers are lucky enough not to need a starting quarterback this offseason, but with Jordan Love’s moderate injury issues over the past two years, finding a backup to replace Malik Willis is a meaningful roster gap the franchise must adequately address.
Head coach Matt LaFleur did a good enough job with Willis that he made the former third-round pick, for whom Green Bay traded a seventh-round draft asset two years ago, into the most sought after (and most likely soon to be highest-paid) quarterback about to hit the free-agent market later this month.
LaFleur and the Packers offense could viably do the same thing for a player like Anthony Richardson, though the former No. 4 overall pick in 2023 is probably hunting an opportunity to start, or at least compete for the QB1 position, which he won’t get in Green Bay.
The quarterback market in 2026 might dictate that a veteran player past his prime ends up the best option for the Packers at QB2 rather than a young player looking to build his value and hop into a starting role elsewhere a year or two down the road.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler mentioned Jimmy Garoppolo, the current Los Angeles Rams backup QB and former Super Bowl starter with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018-19, as a potential fit behind Love in Green Bay.
“Free agent Jimmy Garoppolo heading to Arizona is a strong option, too,” Fowler wrote on Sunday, March 1. “Something to keep in mind with Garoppolo: He has one of the league’s best QB2 jobs with the Rams, who would welcome him back. Joining Green Bay as a No. 2 is also an option.”
Jimmy Garoppolo Has Been Successful NFL Starter Over 12-Year Career
GettyLos Angeles Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo, who turns 35 years old in November, is a 12-year NFL veteran with a reliable history as a starting quarterback.
He has never been an All-Pro or a Pro Bowler, though the former second-round pick has tallied nearly 16,000 passing yards on a 67.4 percent completion rate to go along with 96 TDs and 52 INTs across 85 career games played (64 starts). He is 43-21 as a starter.
Garoppolo is a bit out of practice, appearing in just three games last season and doing so exclusively in garbage time. He did not attempt a pass during the entire 2025 campaign or any of the Rams’ three NFC playoff contests.
Rams Will Soon Start Planning for Life After QB Matthew Stafford, Which May Free Up Jimmy Garoppolo
GettyLos Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Los Angeles paid Garoppolo just north of $3 million to serve as the backup to MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford last season. Spotrac projects Garoppolo’s market value in 2026 at $2.35 million.
The best argument for Garoppolo’s availability this offseason is that the Rams will, at some point, need to begin plotting a succession plan for the 38-year-old Stafford. He said during his MVP acceptance speech that he will return to L.A. next season and play out his $84 million contract in an attempt to secure his second Super Bowl with the franchise.
The Rams are potentially in play for quarterback Ty Simpson of Alabama with either the Nos. 13 or 29 picks in the first round.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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