Former player links Jets with Jimmy Garoppolo over Aaron Rodgers
Former NFL linebacker Thomas Davis has suggested the New York Jets should target San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo over Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers.
“He wins football games,” Davis said of Garoppolo during NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access” program, as shared by Adam London of NESN. “The Jets have a ton of weapons offensively. I think (rookie) Garrett Wilson is gonna be one of the best receivers in football over the next five or six years. When you look at that defense, I think that defense is built to win. All they need is a quarterback that can come in and not put them in bad situations, not turn the football over, not make them have to play with short fields.”
Ian O’Connor of the New York Post previously linked Garoppolo and not Rodgers with the Jets ahead of this past weekend.
Garoppolo is familiar with Jets head coach Robert Saleh due to Saleh’s stint as San Francisco defensive coordinator, and Jimmy G is on track to hit free agency when the new league year opens in March. Rodgers, meanwhile, signed an extension with the Packers last offseason, and it’s believed Green Bay may want at least two first-round draft picks for the future Hall of Famer this winter or spring.
Garoppolo theoretically could be the type of non-threatening mentor current Jets quarterback and 2021 first-round selection Zach Wilson needs following his disastrous season. Young San Francisco signal-caller Trey Lance has repeatedly spoken highly of Garoppolo and noted last summer that the 31-year-old “helped me out with everything” during Lance’s first year in the league.
Additionally, Garoppolo may be just as good as the version of Rodgers that turned 39 years old in December. According to ESPN stats, Garoppolo finished the 2022 regular season third among qualified players with a 103.0 passer rating, 16th with a 54.3 total QBR, tied for fifth with a 67.2% completion percentage, and fourth with an average of 7.9 yards per pass attempt. He tossed 16 touchdown passes with four interceptions across 11 games.
To compare, Rodgers ended the campaign tied for 15th with a 91.1 passer rating, 26th with a 39.3 total QBR, 21st with a 64.6% completion percentage, and tied for 24th with an average of 6.8 yards per pass attempt. While Rodgers notched 26 touchdown passes over 17 games, he also had 12 interceptions. Only six players threw more picks this season.
Rob Demovsky of ESPN wrote on Jan. 24 that Rodgers is on track to earn $59.465 million guaranteed for 2023 via his contract. Garoppolo is coming off a broken foot he suffered on Dec. 4 and won’t be nearly as expensive for the Jets or any other team.
The 2022 Jets went 7-10 without consistently having even solid play from the quarterback position. Signing Garoppolo and using available funds to bolster other parts of the roster could be enough for Gang Green to compete for more than just a division title next season.
