Jimmy Garoppolo foot surgery casts shadow on 1st year with Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
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The 49ers know too well about Jimmy Garoppolo's injury history, and it appears as if the Raiders are now finding out.

In three of his six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered what effectively were season-ending injuries.

After 2021, he had a shoulder injury that subsequently required surgery and impacted the Niners' attempts to trade him prior to the 2022 season. And while San Francisco is glad it held onto Jimmy G in 2022 after watching Trey Lance suffer a broken ankle in Week 2, Garoppolo's own injury history popped up again when he suffered a foot injury in Week 13.

That injury effectively ended his season, even though it wasn't originally thought to require surgery, and then-rookie Brock Purdy took the reigns and essentially made Garoppolo expendable as a free agent the following season.

With a full conclusion he wouldn't return to the 49ers this go-around, Garoppolo ultimately signed a three-year, $72.75 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders instead.

Some may recall how Garoppolo's introductory press conference with Vegas was delayed. And now, there's a new development that sheds light on yet another injury situation from the offseason that could negatively impact the relationship with his new squad.

Jimmy Garoppolo had foot surgery after Raiders officially signed him, per report

According to a report from The Athletic's Vic Tafor and Tashan Reed (h/t 49ers Webzone), Garoppolo's injured foot did require surgery, and the procedure to repair it actually ended up taking place after the Raiders signed the veteran signal-caller.

Per the report, Vegas found out about this during Garoppolo's physical. Head coach Josh McDaniels, whom Garoppolo knows from their days together with the New England Patriots, seemed to think it wasn't new information.

"We don't play a game for 100 days," McDaniels said. "Everything that's happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew ahead of time. … Certainly had an awareness of all of it. Our preference is not to push it and rush anybody back at this point in time."

The Raiders began organized team activities this week, and Garoppolo wasn't present. According to the report, there's no timetable for his return.

"His recovery timeline from that procedure is unknown, although McDaniels acknowledged he 'could be' out until at least training camp," wrote Reed and Tafur.

Read More: Fans won't believe this perk Jimmy Garoppolo has in Las Vegas

It's not ideal.

Is Jimmy Garoppolo already hurting relationship with Raiders?

McDaniels did state that Las Vegas knew about Garoppolo needing surgery prior to him signing there. So, from that perspective, it isn't a perceived repeat of what Jimmy G underwent when he had shoulder surgery during the 2022 offseason.

Fans may recall how some viewed that as Garoppolo's camp willingly trying to sabotage his trade value in order to hang onto the last year of his contract with San Francisco.

While this particular situation doesn't quite mirror that one, it's nevertheless a negative development.

At the surface level, Garoppolo needs the time to both acclimate to McDaniels' offense (it's undoubtedly changed in the last six years since both were in New England) and to develop chemistry with his offensive weapons. With training camp now threatened, that's going to be awfully difficult.

Beyond that, though, the Raiders are finding out the hard way about Garoppolo's own injury history, one which heavily influenced the 49ers' decision to move on from him.

While Garoppolo has room to bounce back from this latest development, it certainly isn't a positive start to his Raiders tenure.

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