With free agency approaching, so is the end of Malik Willis’s time with the Green Bay Packers. Willis came to Green Bay as a reclamation project after a trade with the Tennessee Titans, and in a handful of starts in place of an injured Jordan Love, he is now in line to command a contract worth $35.5 million per season, according to Spotrac’s market value projections.
The Packers aren’t paying that much to keep a backup quarterback, and finding a replacement for Willis is a key storyline as they enter the heart of the offseason calendar. Free agency will bring options to general manager Brian Gutekunst's doorstep, including Los Angeles Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler suggested as a potential QB2 option for Green Bay.
While Garoppolo doesn’t have the same upside as other candidates, he could be cheap enough to get the job done, allowing the Packers to use their free agent money on more pressing needs.
Jimmy Garoppolo Emerging as Logical Backup Option for Packers
A 12-year veteran, Garoppolo has plenty of NFL experience, even taking the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl with a record of 13-3 in 2019. While he was entrenched as the 49ers starter, injuries knocked him from that perch and made way for Brock Purdy, leading to a trade to the Las Vegas Raiders at the end of the 2023 season.
A lost 2023 season led him to the Los Angeles Rams for the past two years, and while he’s only appeared in four games and one start, he has been in head coach Sean McVay’s system. That could be appealing to the Packers’ backup quarterback situation.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is a member of McVay’s coaching tree and has many of the same concepts that his mentor uses with the Rams. Although Fowler added that LaFleur's brother, Mike, is looking for QB help and could recruit Garoppolo to his new job with the Arizona Cardinals, the former 2014 second-rounder would be a better fit with the Packers if he leaves Los Angeles.
Garoppolo is only projected to make $2.3 million annually on his next deal, according to Spotrac, making him an affordable backup option to Love. While Love has entrenched himself as the Packers’ franchise quarterback, Garoppolo can relish in a system with a strong running game led by Josh Jacobs and a reliable cast of targets, including wide receiver Christian Watson and tight end Tucker Kraft.
The cost also has plenty of benefits, as the Packers wouldn’t have to give up any draft capital in a trade and can use the savings to go after some of their other areas of need in free agency.
While there will be competition for his services, the allure of joining a Super Bowl threat like the Packers could be too much for Garoppolo to ignore, giving Gutekunst & Co. a strong choice to replace Willis next season.