Sports Editor
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Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo officially signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, reuniting him with his former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Garoppolo previously played for the New England Patriots alongside McDaniels. He was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, where he spent the last six seasons.
He is expected to adjust from his prior offensive strategies with coach Kyle Shanahan, especially considering McDaniels’ coordination system is known for its complexity. However, Garoppolo expressed confidence that he could orient himself to his old coach’s new style.
“Kyle’s offense versus Josh’s offense, it’s just a different mindset behind it. It’s basically going from Spanish to French,” Garoppolo said.
Garoppolo’s signing comes after the Raiders parted ways with quarterback Derek Carr, who was traded to the New Orleans Saints earlier this week. Carr had been the team’s starting quarterback for nine seasons.
Garoppolo spent the early years of his career training under McDaniels, adopting many of the coach’s offensive coordination tactics. Though he left the Patriots over half a decade ago, he still retained an admiration for McDaniels, calling him “very smart” in his first Raiders press conference.
“Taught me the game of football basically in the game. But he cares, too, about the game. He cares about winning. You can really tell, just talking to him that winning is very important,” Garoppolo said.
While the Raiders quickly picked up on Garoppolo’s potential synergy with various members of the team, the 31-year-old player expressed a long-time interest in joining the roster. His familiarity with McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler “played a role” in his final choice.
Garoppolo also voiced much optimism in the new contract, aiming toward a Super Bowl win for the Raiders. His contract with the team is worth over $72.75 million for three years, with Garoppolo guaranteed to receive $34 million from his service.
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