The Bucs will enter free agency this coming week looking to add a few players to their roster. Who that might be remains to be seen, and the Pewter Report staff has been hard at work drawing up various battle plans to identify which positions need upgrades.
That begs the question – what about the quarterback position?
While Baker Mayfield will be the starter in 2026, Tampa Bay will be in the market for a backup signal-caller even after recently signing exclusive rights free agent Connor Bazelak to a one-year, $1.005 million deal. Mayfield may very well play the full 17-game season, but what happens if he succumbs to injury? He battled and played through several ailments last season, and quarterback injuries, while unfortunate and difficult to talk about, are a reality across the league.
Recently, I wrote about why Penn State’s Drew Allar could be a Day 3 target in the 2026 NFL Draft. Adding a developmental quarterback like Allar is one strategy, but finding a veteran on the open market is another.
Among the names available, signing Jimmy Garoppolo makes the most sense for a couple of reasons.
Jimmy Garoppolo Is A Scheme Fit For Zac Robinson’s Bucs Offense
At 34 years old, Jimmy Garoppolo is on the back-nine of his NFL career. Having been drafted in the second round by the Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft, Garoppolo spent the majority of his time as a starter with the 49ers between 2017-2022.
Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Mark J. Rebilas
After being traded from New England to San Francisco, he was the quarterback who lifted them from the doldrums of being at the bottom of the NFC West and revived them into being a premier franchise running point in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. That included bringing them all the way to the Super Bowl in 2019 after a 13-3 year, but it ended with losing the big game to the Chiefs, 31-20.
“Jimmy G” profiles very similarly to the Bucs signing of Teddy Bridgewater last offseason in terms of experience. He has played in 85 games, starting 64 of them with an impressive 43-21 record. Garoppolo has thrown for 15,828 yards and 96 touchdowns to 52 interceptions. He also owns a 4-2 playoff record, although that came with spotty play during critical moments in San Francisco.
He has stayed on the West Coast ever since, moving on to the Raiders in 2023. His stint in Las Vegas did not work out, as Garoppolo was benched after six starts while head coach Josh McDaniels was fired midway through the season.
That failed experiment led to him signing with the Rams for the 2024 season. For that reason, bringing him on board makes him a fit for Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s offense as Garoppolo has had a crash course within a similar scheme.
Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kyle Terada
He has served as Matthew Stafford’s backup in Los Angeles for two years and knows the ins and outs of Sean McVay’s offense. It would not be a difficult transition to dial into what Robinson incorporates in Tampa Bay.
The expectation is that it will look a lot like what Liam Coen ran in 2024, prioritizing quick game with short, efficient throws to get the quarterback into a rhythm and mixing up the run game concepts between gap and zone. Much of that is carryover of McVay’s evolution as a play-calling mastermind, which is why his coaching staff is annually raided of offensive minds.
Given his experience and knowledge, it is easy to connect the dots of him signing on as a backup behind Baker Mayfield. Projected to get a one-year, $3 million contract in free agency, he is quite affordable.
It is worth noting Garoppolo’s own extensive injury history, as he missed 23 games between 2018 and 2020 due to a torn ACL and high ankle sprains. In 2022, he suffered a foot injury after taking over for Trey Lance, eventually ceding the starting job to seventh-round pick Brock Purdy. At this point, he is a high-end backup capable of making a short run as a starter.
If the Bucs want an experienced veteran who understands a similar system and can keep the offense afloat if Mayfield misses any time, Jimmy Garoppolo makes a lot of sense.
Adam Slivon has covered the Bucs for four seasons with PewterReport.com as a Bucs Beat Writer, Social Media Manager, and Podcaster. Adam started as an intern during his time at the University of Tampa, where he graduated with a degree in Sport Management in May 2023.
In addition to his regular written content, he appears every Thursday on the Pewter Report Podcast, has a weekly YouTube Top 10 Takeaways video series, and leads the managing of the site's social media platforms.
As a Wisconsin native, he spent his childhood growing up on a farm and enjoys Culver's, kringle, and a quality game of cornhole. You can find him most often on X @AdamLivsOn.
