Henderson, Nevada — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed his training camp physical after recovering from a foot injury in the offseason, a league source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
A source told ESPN that Garoppolo will start training “at the right pace,” starting workouts and “not taking it slow” after not participating in any on-court activity during the offseason training program.
Garoppolo, who joined the Raiders on March 17 on a three-year, $72.75 million free-agent deal, signed a waiver/release in lieu of a physical because of a left foot injury. On December 4, Garoppolo suffered an injury while playing for the San Francisco 49ers.
Editor’s Choice
His introductory news conference was delayed a day, presumably after the Raiders discovered the foot problem and made him sign a waiver. Garoppolo was asked that day to reveal the circumstances of the delay and whether injuries played a role. He said, “Don’t worry.
“I mean, it’s just talk, language, stuff like that. But no, I think both sides know what we want to accomplish, so it’s actually very collaborative. It’s just us coming together.”
Garoppolo underwent surgery after signing with Las Vegas and was limited to classroom work for the Raiders during OTAs and minicamp. His $11.25 million signing bonus was converted to base salary, bringing him to $22.5 million for the season, all of which led to the belief that the Raiders could cut him with little to no financial penalty if he failed to clear his medical before the season began.
While fans were nervous about the Raiders signing the injured Garoppolo (who required surgery) to replace nine-year starter Derek Carr (who was released on Feb. 14 and later signed with the New Orleans Saints), Raiders second-year coach Josh McDaniels said on June 1 that he was “not anxious” about the team’s quarterback situation.
“I don’t worry about things outside of my control,” McDaniels said at the time. “I’ve got really good information telling me we’re going to be fine, you know what I mean? So again, nothing happened to change that, so that’s why I feel that way.”
Free-agent signing Brian Hoyer, who is entering his 15th NFL season and has experience with the McDaniels system from his time with the New England Patriots, took charge of the first-team offense in the offseason, while fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell from Purdue also gained significant representation. The only returning Raiders quarterback is second-year player Chase Garbers, who has yet to play in an NFL regular season.
Jarrett Stidham, who started the last two games for the Raiders after Cal left the team, signed a two-year, $10 million free agent deal with the Denver Broncos two days before Garoppolo signed with the Raiders.
Additionally, the Raiders added rookie rusher Tyree Wilson, the seventh overall pick, to the non-football injured list on Friday, as expected. Wilson suffered a season-ending right foot injury while playing for Texas Tech on Nov. 21 and underwent follow-up surgery on March 21 to remove the hardware. Like Garoppolo, he was limited to classroom work during the offseason.
Meanwhile, third-round pick Byron Young from Alabama was placed on the physically disabled list.
The Raiders veteran reported to training camp on Tuesday and had his first practice Wednesday morning.
