Jimmy Garoppolo is considering retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons, a decision that could leave the Los Angeles Rams facing another turn at quarterback just days after they drafted Alabama’s Ty Simpson. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the 34-year-old is weighing whether to keep playing after a career that stretched across four teams and 85 games.
Garoppolo spent the last two seasons as Matthew Stafford’s backup in Los Angeles, but he appeared in only four games over that stretch and did not attempt a pass in 2025. The Rams have not signed him in free agency since he entered the market in March, even though many around the league expected him to return and resume the role he held behind Stafford.
That uncertainty matters now because the Rams used Thursday night in Pittsburgh to select Ty Simpson with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, a move that signaled a fresh layer to their quarterback plan. The team had also publicly mulled pursuing Kirk Cousins before he signed with the Raiders, a reminder that Los Angeles has kept scanning the market while Garoppolo’s status has remained unresolved.
Garoppolo’s path has been anything but linear. A former second-round pick of the Patriots and a one-time 49ers franchise quarterback, he had a difficult stint in Las Vegas in 2023 before landing in Los Angeles. By the numbers, he has put together a long run and nearly $160 million in career earnings, but the last two years offered little chance to add to the resume on the field.
If Garoppolo does walk away, the Rams would be left with a younger and less settled quarterback picture than they appeared to expect only a few months ago. Stetson Bennett remains part of the conversation in Los Angeles, but the bigger story is that the club’s veteran backup option may now be deciding whether his career is already complete.
