If you recall, it was not that long ago that Chase Garbers found himself unemployed after the Las Vegas Raiders waived him. It was assumed that head coach Josh McDaniels was going to roll with his holy trinity of Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, and Aidan O’Connell. In an interesting turn of events, the Silver and Black recalled the former Cal product. What gives?
So, no Jimmy Garoppolo this preseason?
Don’t worry, “Jimmy G” isn’t hurt, folks. In fact, McDaniels is taking his share of precautions, as the two-time Super Bowl champion doesn’t practice every day. It’s a stark reminder of how fragile Garoppolo is, something that everyone will be monitoring this season. Regardless, as preseason nears, it’s highly likely that Garbers return is a strong indicator Raider Nation won’t be seeing the new starting signal-caller on the playing field yet. In fact, Vincent Bonsignore, a Raiders beat writer at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, indicated as much on Wednesday.
The @Raiders re-signing of QB Chase Garbers is a strong signal we probably won’t see much of Jimmy G in preseason games.
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 2, 2023
When considering Garoppolo’s injury history, it’s obvious that McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler are hedging their bets. If we’re being honest, no one should be surprised by any of this. Chase Garbers was the Raiders’ backup to Jarrett Stidham in the squad’s final stretch of games last season, so the experience is there. Perhaps it’s too soon to throw O’Connell out there, despite him receiving some notable praise recently. Still, you have to wonder how the chemistry between the offense and defense will be affected as the regular season approaches.
Many fans feel as though the team’s starters absence in the preseason contributed to their slow start. Josh Jacobs played, and we know how that turned out.
We even decided to ask the Nation’s thoughts on this.
Do you #RaiderNation expect to see QB Jimmy Garoppolo play at all this preseason?
— RaiderRamble.com™ (@TheRaiderRamble) August 3, 2023
Will we see Jimmy Garoppolo at any point in the preseason? More importantly, are you concerned about the possible repercussions from sitting for the starters again?
*Top Photo: Associated Press