The Las Vegas Raiders look set to play Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season without starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Raiders QB sustained a back injury during the Week 6 win over the New England Patriots last Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. Las Vegas recorded a 21-17 win, but Garoppolo was not able to finish the game.
Garoppolo got hurt in the latter stages of the second quarter on Sunday. Despite injuring his back, the veteran quarterback remained in the game until half-time but did not return to the field for the second half.
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Brian Hoyer stepped in for the second half and helped lead the team to victory. Now it’s been reported that Garoppolo will not feature in Week 7 for the Raiders due to his injury.
According to ESPN , Garopolo has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The 31-year-old did not take part in Wednesday’s practice, and will not be involved in the game against Chicago this weekend.
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels provided further details on Garoppolo’s injury when speaking to reporters on Monday. McDaniels explained how the injury was not as bad as first feared.
“There was some concern yesterday that it was an internal issue,” McDaniels told reporters on Monday, via NFL.com .
“So we did a bunch of scans [Sunday], last night. Seems like we dodged a big bullet in that regard. That’s good news.
“We’re still doing a couple things this morning and we’ll kind of make sure we do all the right things here as we go forward.
“The prognosis is a lot better than it might have otherwise been. Don’t yet for this week, relatively speaking. So there’s a lot still to, I’d say, uncover in that regard, but good news relative to what it might have been.”
As a result of Garoppolo’s injury, the Raiders will be left with a decision on who to have as the starting quarterback against the Bears. Hoyer stepped in for the injured Garoppolo against the Patriots, while rookie Aidan O’Connell is also an option.
O’Connell was a fourth-round pick for the Raiders in the 2023 NFL Draft earlier this year. He played as the starting quarterback for the Raiders in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers while Garoppolo was sidelined with a concussion.
The 25-year-old impressed during pre-season for the Raiders, and has been tipped to be a potential franchise quarterback in the future. However, it remains to be seen whether or not McDaniels will start the rookie in a tough road game, or go with Hoyer who is playing his 15th season in the NFL.
