{"id":785802,"date":"2026-03-02T03:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T03:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/785802\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T03:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T03:29:17","slug":"jimmy-garoppolo-has-strong-chance-to-become-cardinals-starting-qb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/785802\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Garoppolo has &#8216;strong&#8217; chance to become Cardinals&#8217; starting QB"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jimmy Garoppolo could make an unexpected return to starting duties in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The veteran quarterback is viewed as a \u201cstrong option\u201d to join the Cardinals this offseason, according to ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The team has already shown interest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/48045815\/2026-nfl-combine-latest-buzz-news-rumors-free-agency-draft-qbs-trades-offseason#ari\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the NFL insider wrote<\/a>, in exploring a reunion between Garoppolo and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/01\/sports\/cardinals-hiring-mike-lafleur-as-new-head-coach\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">newly hired head coach Mike LaFleur<\/a> \u2014 the quarterback\u2019s offensive coordinator in Los Angeles over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38642028\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/jimmy-garoppolo-11-los-angeles-116451225.jpg\" alt=\"Jimmy Garoppolo Rams quarterback\" class=\"wp-image-38642028\"  \/>Los Angeles Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is pictured during a November 2025 game. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The pair are considered very close, with a league source telling Fowler that Garoppolo is \u201c[LaFleur\u2019s] guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former first overall pick Kyler Murray is expected to get moved ahead of the season, and while Jacoby Brissett impressed as Arizona\u2019s starter down the stretch, it\u2019s possible that LaFleur kicks off his coaching tenure by rolling with what \u2014 or who \u2014 he knows best.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLaFleur can create a clean path to restart his quarterback room by adding at least one veteran and drafting a QB,\u201d wrote Fowler. \u201cThat makes [Kyler] Murray and [Jacoby] Brissett expendable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Garoppolo \u2014 a 34-year-old unrestricted free agent \u2014 has amassed plenty of first-string experience across his 12-year NFL career, but an everyday starting job would mark his first time in the role since 2022, his last year with the 49ers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38642026\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2022-inglewood-calif-garoppolo-agreed-8210163.jpg\" alt=\"Jimmy Garoppolo 49ers quarterback\" class=\"wp-image-38642026\"  \/>Jimmy Garoppolo hasn\u2019t been an everyday starter since his last season with the 49ers in 2022. AP<\/p>\n<p>That season, he threw for 2,437 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions across 10 starts.<\/p>\n<p>One of the NFL\u2019s most reliable backups, Garoppolo is expected to draw strong interest from around the league.<\/p>\n<p>He could also return to the Rams and continue supporting MVP Matthew Stafford, or even slot in as Green Bay\u2019s No. 2 in the likely event that Malik Willis departs in free agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jimmy Garoppolo could make an unexpected return to starting duties in 2026. The veteran quarterback is viewed as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079],"tags":[390,7,7841,1014,58,2444,2611,26287,6,424,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-785802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-arizona-cardinals","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jimmy-garoppolo","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-los-angeles-rams","13":"tag-losangeles","14":"tag-losangelesrams","15":"tag-mike-lafleur","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-rams","18":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}