The Arizona Cardinals have a new head coach in Mike LaFleur. As Kyler Murray might not be on the team next year, a known face of the head coach has been linked to the team as a potential new quarterback.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, free agent Jimmy Garoppolo is a strong option to join the Cardinals. New HC Mike LaFleur was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, so he has a close connection with former Rams QB, Jimmy Garoppolo.
According to Fowler, LaFleur views Garoppolo as “his guy,“ so given that he is a free agent, the Cardinals could actually see Garoppolo as a reliable, cheap QB1 to transition to the post-Kyler Murray days.
Garoppolo is quite different than Murray
While many might say Murray is more talented and a better quarterback, the fact is Garoppolo has a way more successful career than Murray up to this point. Murray has a 38-48-1 career record and only one playoff appearance. As for Garoppolo he has a career 43-21 record, and with him as a starter, he went to a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, as well as an NFC Championship Game.
Garoppolo is more of a pocket passer, quick processor, and steady quarterback. Murray is quite the opposite, he is a mobile, undersized, speedy quarterback with an educated arm. Still, both have practically a 2/1 TD-to-INT ratio. However, LaFleur might be eager to get Garoppolo because of their story and his style.
Garoppolo hasn’t played much in the last few years
The last couple of years, Garoppolo has been the backup of Matthew Stafford on the Los Angeles Rams. He has only started one game during that span, in a losing game where he threw for 334 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Before that, he only played seven games for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. He ended up losing the job to Aidan O’Connell. Hence, Garoppolo might need to revamp his reputation too.