After a couple of “chaotic” seasons, Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo is having fun again

LOS ANGELES – After a couple of wild seasons, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo finally seems relaxed.

The 10-year veteran has returned to a backup role as each Garoppolo and the Los Angeles Rams realized it was the proper time to unite. Garoppolo was in search of a solid foundation while the Rams wanted a reliable backup for starter Matthew Stafford.

It's been a fantastic pairing thus far, especially after Garoppolo has struggled with a lot uncertainty over the past few years.

“It was chaotic at times, but it was all learning experiences,” Garoppolo said. “That's one thing I took away from it. The NFL is crazy, man. Everybody has a story. Everybody's trying to make it somehow. But at the end of the day, it's your story and you have to make the best of it. Good, bad or indifferent, whatever happened in the past, it happened. … Now I'm here and I'm just trying to make every day the best day.”

Garoppolo's profession overall has been remarkably eventful. The New England Patriots drafted him within the second round in 2014, with Bill Belichick citing Tom Brady's age as a primary reason for considering a possible succession plan. But when Brady's performance didn't decline with age, the Patriots traded Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.

Garoppolo tore his ACL in 2018, led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019, and missed a lot of the 2020 season resulting from a severe ankle sprain. Garoppolo kept his starting spot in 2021 after the Niners invested heavily in Trey Lance, however the team had prepared to make use of Lance in 2022, setting off an unpredictable chain response that appeared to lay the groundwork for Garoppolo's transfer or release. Instead, he reworked his contract and filled in for Lance after the latter suffered a gruesome ankle injury in Week 2, but ultimately went down again along with his own Lisfranc injury, paving the best way for Brock Purdy's emergence.

There was never a dull moment: Garoppolo endured a grueling recovery from offseason foot surgery before joining the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. However, he was benched midseason, the identical day head coach Josh McDaniels was fired.

So it's comprehensible why a backup job with the Rams and the chance to start out over were attractive to Garoppolo.

“It's really nice to have a healthy offseason,” Garoppolo said. “I haven't had one like this in a long time. The foot surgery last year was tough. For anyone who's been through that, it wasn't a great recovery, but I feel like I'm back to being myself. In this role, I get to experiment with some things when I'm with the 2s. I get to be myself. I haven't had that in a long time, so it's nice to get back to that.

Garoppolo cited Stafford and Rams coach Sean McVay as the main reasons he wanted to play in Los Angeles. McVay in particular impressed Garoppolo when the two spoke on the phone. Garoppolo, who has also drawn interest from other teams, was also eager to learn more about Stafford's approach.

Garoppolo, who will begin the season serving a two-game suspension for violating the league's doping policy, also realized in the offseason that a guaranteed starting spot is out of the question. Of course, he could have gone somewhere to compete with a young quarterback, but that would have led to a similar dynamic to what he experienced in San Francisco, where the organization would inevitably be reliant on the long-term investment. Similarly, with teams starting over at the quarterback position, job security for head coaches is usually not as stable as he just experienced in Vegas.

McVay is hardly a sure thing in the league and his offensive scheme speaks for itself. The mood in the Rams building is also as good as it can be.

There were a number of reasons for Garoppolo to take a step back in Southern California.

“This place also lets you be yourself, which is different than other places I've been. You're put under pressure with a way of urgency, but in a very good way. Of course, everyone desires to win. Everyone desires to perform well. Here, they do it the suitable way. They push you in a positive way. There's just numerous good things happening, man. I'm having fun with every second of it. Even the meetings are a very good time. Everything's going well immediately.”