Rams' Jimmy Garoppolo seems to take shot at previous teams

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo told Jeff Howe of The Athletic in an interview published on Monday that his new team was allowing him to be himself. In a possible shot at some of his previous NFL teams, Garoppolo added that this was "different than other places (he's) been."

"It was chaotic at times, but they’re all learning experiences," the 32-year-old said, per the report. "That’s one thing I’ve taken from this. The NFL is crazy, man. Everyone has got a story. Everyone is going whichever way trying to make it. But at the end of the day, it’s your story, and you’ve got to make the best of it. Good, bad, or indifferent, whatever happened in the past, it happened. ... Now I’m here, and I’m just trying to make every day the best day."

Garoppolo was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft and spent the first three seasons of his career with the organization. Garoppolo played just 17 games and made two starts behind Tom Brady, though he won his only two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.

The Eastern Illinois product was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in October 2017 and took over as the team's starter in Week 13. Garoppolo opened 2018 as the Niners starter before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3.

He had a triumphant return in 2019, finishing with career highs in passing yards (3,978) and touchdowns (27) while finishing with a 69.1 completion percentage and 102.0 passer rating. Garoppolo led San Francisco to a 13-3 regular-season record, finished as the AP Comeback Player of the Year runner-up and guided the group to the Super Bowl, where they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jimmy G. then missed most of the 2020 campaign due to a high ankle sprain but regained the starting role in 2021, despite the 49ers selecting Trey Lance with the third overall pick. Lance earned QB1 status at the beginning of 2022 but Garoppolo quickly took over in Week 2 when the former suffered an ankle injury. The veteran went down with a late-season injury as well, leading to Brock Purdy, the 2022 draft's "Mr. Irrelevant," taking over.

Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.5M contract with Las Vegas last March but had a rough one-season stay in the AFC West.

Hours after Raiders owner Mark Davis fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler at the beginning of November, it was reported that the team was benching Garoppolo in favor of 2023 draft pick Aidan O'Connell. Garoppolo saw just three snaps after his benching between Weeks 8 and 9 and finished the campaign with a 65.1 completion percentage for 1,205 passing yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions across seven games (six starts).

He signed with the Rams in March and is set to back Matthew Stafford in 2024. Garoppolo will serve a two-game suspension to begin the season, a punishment given for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

"It’s really nice having a healthy offseason," Garoppolo said, according to Howe. "I haven’t had one of those in a while. The foot surgery was tough last year. For anyone who’s ever been through that, that wasn’t a fun recovery, but I feel like I’m back to myself. Being in this role, I get to experiment with some things, being with the 2s. I get to be myself. I haven’t had that in a little while, so it feels nice to get back to that."