The QB carousel has already started moving in the NFL even with the legal tampering period and the official start of free agency still a few days away. Derek Carr inked a deal with the Saints, Geno Smith and Daniel Jones were retained by their respective clubs, and the league is waiting on pins and needles to see if the Jets will pull off a blockbuster that lands them Aaron Rodgers. Even with all of these latest happenings, there are still several shoes still to drop, including the status of Jimmy Garoppolo.
The veteran quarterback is slated to hit unrestricted free agency and it appears he'll have a solid market for himself. The Panthers, Texans and Raiders are all expected to show interest in signing him once the legal tampering period opens up on March 13, according to NFL Media.
What's fascinating is that each one of these teams that are reportedly interested in Garoppolo all find themselves inside the top 10 of the NFL Draft. The Texans pick second overall (and 12th), Las Vegas is on the clock at No. 7, and the Panthers pick ninth, meaning they all could conceivably draft one of the top prospects at the position.
It'll be interesting to see if they view Garoppolo as someone who can be their QB1 for the foreseeable future and allow them to forgo addressing it at the draft or would be serving as a placeholder until the prospect they draft is ready to ascend. If it's the latter, it's hard to imagine Garoppolo signing on for something like that if there are other options available as he's likely looking for a destination that gives him the best chance to start for the rest of his career.
Meanwhile, Garoppolo has strong connections with both the Texans and Raiders organizations. With Las Vegas, Garoppolo's history is linked to head coach Josh McDaniels, who was the Patriots' offensive coordinator when he came into the league in 2014 and coached him until he was traded to San Francisco. As for Houston, it oozes with Garoppolo connections. First, newly hired head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik were both with Garoppolo in San Francisco. On top of that, Texans GM Nick Caserio was the director of player personnel when New England drafted Garoppolo out of Eastern Illinois.
While there may be no obvious links between Carolina and Garoppolo, it's still an intriguing pairing. The team just hired Frank Riech to be its next head coach and currently only has one quarterback (Matt Corral) under contract.
Again, Garoppolo's viewpoint will be worth following. With the free agency coming before the draft, there's the possibility that any one of these teams that ultimately signs him could later select a quarterback in the first round, setting Garoppolo up to be a stopgap, which is a similar situation he just departed in San Francisco.
