Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will play in his team’s Monday night matchup with the Detroit Lions, head coach Josh McDaniels told the media on Saturday.
Garoppolo did not participate in the Raiders’ Week 7 loss to the Chicago Bears due to a back injury, but he appears ready to go for Week 8.
“I think he’s got a little pep in his step,” McDaniels said of Garoppolo, via Michael Baca of NFL.com. “He’s much the same as everyone else is. He didn’t play last week, but he wants to get us headed in the right direction and start doing some things we haven’t been doing as well better. Good leadership, good energy at practice, good execution, working with everybody across the board and just really trying to put our focus where it needs to be and have good days, stack ’em this week and hopefully finish with a good one today in the red zone, some of our work down there in the scoring area.”
Las Vegas’ offense struggled without Garoppolo last weekend, as it managed just 12 points against a woeful Bears team. The Raiders employed two quarterbacks on the afternoon, starting with Brian Hoyer and then switching to rookie Aidan O’Connell later on.
Hoyer went 17-for-32 with 129 yards and a couple of interceptions. O’Connell fared better, going 10-for-13 with 75 yards, a touchdown and a pick, but it still wasn’t nearly enough.
The Raiders signed Garoppolo to a three-year deal back in the spring.
Through five games this season, Garoppolo has thrown for 1,079 yards, seven touchdowns and an NFL-leading eight interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 82.6. He also missed a game earlier in the year due to a concussion.
Jimmy Garoppolo, who played his collegiate football at Eastern Illinois, was originally selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He spent his first three-and-a-half seasons with the Patriots as Tom Brady’s backup before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in October 2017.
The 31-year-old spent six-plus seasons with the 49ers, leading the club to a Super Bowl appearance during the 2019-20 campaign.
Las Vegas is 3-4 on the year.
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