Veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is reportedly considering retirement in a move that would shake up the NFL’s free agency market ahead of the 2026 season.
The 34-year-old has spent 12 years in the NFL, amassing more than $156million in a career that has included two Super Bowl wins.
But, according to NFL Network, Garoppolo has been pondering retirement and is close to making a final decision on whether to play on or hang up his cleats.
Garoppolo spent time with the Rams in both 2024 and 2025 and is reportedly considered Los Angeles’ No 1 option as a backup for Matthew Stafford next season.
Should the 34-year-old retire, it would leave a hole to fill in one of the NFL’s most exciting rosters.
Garoppolo’s NFL career began in 2014, when he taken in the second round of the draft by the New England Patriots.
Veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is reportedly considering retirement at the age of 34
The 34-year-old has amassed more than $156million and won two Super Bowl rings
He spent three seasons as backup to Tom Brady, helping New England win both Super Bowl XLIX and Super Bowl LI.
He was then traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he stayed from 2017 to 2022. Garoppolo returned to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2019 season, only for San Francisco to lose to Kansas City.
But he has started only 64 games in a 12-year career that also included a season with the Las Vegas Raiders before he joined the Rams.
In Los Angeles, Garoppolo’s playing time has been limited by Stafford and a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Reports at the time said the ban was related to the quarterback using a prescribed medication without having a therapeutic use exemption from the league.
NFL Network also reported on Monday that the Rams and Stafford have ‘made significant progress’ toward a contract extension.
His current deal runs through the 2026 campaign but there have been suggestions from head coach Sean McVay that the quarterback could play beyond next year.
