When the Las Vegas Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo over the offseason, it was widely assumed that he would be the team’s starting quarterback throughout the year. But after head coach Josh McDaniels was fired, Garoppolo was benched in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell. However, it sounds like he still enjoyed his time with the team.
During a press conference this week, Jimmy Garoppolo admitted that while it was “a weird year.” But he had a surprising message for the Raiders and his teammates, revealing that despite the benching, he still “loved every minute” of his time with the team this year.
“When you’re in the middle of it, it’s a whirlwind,” Garoppolo said according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “You can’t really smell the roses too long or you get caught up in it. And just reflecting, [I] built a lot of cool relationships in this building. The players, obviously, but just the people in this building — it’s a cool building, good people to be around. And that’s the stuff you carry with you, man. That’s the stuff, yeah, you look back on the season and there are little moments here and there — fun stuff.
“Yeah, I loved it. It was a weird year, don’t get me wrong, but I loved every minute of it.”
It’s not clear what Garoppolo’s future is with the Raiders after he was benched this year, but he signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract with the Raiders last March.
