The Houston Texans hold the No. 2 pick in this year’s NFL Draft and will most certainly use it to draft their quarterback of the future. But that reportedly won’t stop the franchise from pursuing a quality veteran for the position, with Jimmy Garoppolo reportedly being at the top of their list.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports recently reported that there is a “push” within the Texans building to sign Garoppolo to be the team’s starter in 2023. In this scenario, Houston would still take a quarterback in the first round but would have him sit for a year and learn from Garoppolo.
Serving as a bridge quarterback until his younger replacement is ready to play in NFL wouldn’t be a new experience for Garoppolo. The 31-year-old started for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 despite the franchise drafting North Dakota State’s Trey Lance with the third-overall pick in the same year.
Garoppolo is expected to draw a lot of interest in the free agent market from teams that are looking for a dependable quarterback. The New York Jets might be interested if they don’t land Aaron Rodgers, while the Carolina Panthers and the Las Vegas Raiders also make sense.
However, the Texans might be an attractive destination for Jimmy Garoppolo, considering that he would see a lot of familiar faces there. The general manager Nick Caserio was with the New England Patriots, who drafted Garoppolo in 2014, while head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik were on the 49ers coaching staff last season.
Garoppolo started the 2022 NFL campaign as a backup but got the starting job back in Week 2 after Lance suffered a season-ending injury. He went on to start 10 games before getting injured himself. Garoppolo had 2,437 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and four picks last season.
