The Rams are leaving the door open for both Jimmy Garoppolo and the possibility of adding a rookie quarterback in the draft.
Garoppolo is considering retirement and McVay said at a press conference earlier this week that the team doesn’t want to press him for a decision about returning for a third season at this point. He reiterated that during an appearance on ESPN Los Angeles ahead of Thursday’s first round and also said that the team has done the necessary research to be in position to draft a quarterback if things break that way over the next three days.
“We do our work on all these positions,” McVay said. “Whether you’re saying it’s a [Fernando] Mendoza, it’s a Ty Simpson, it’s a [Garrett] Nussmeier, it’s Carson Beck, there are a lot of guys that are going to be good players in this draft and if we feel like it fits for us, you consider it. But we are still hopeful and optimistic that you give Jimmy his time, maybe he’ll have a change of heart. I think the best thing you can do — you never want to force somebody to do something. He’s earned the right to be able to walk away on his terms and it’s been an amazing career.”
Stetson Bennett is currently the only quarterback on the roster behind Matthew Stafford and Stafford’s not guaranteed to be playing beyond 2026, so adding a rookie quarterback would make sense whether Garoppolo wants to come back or not. Should that move come early in the draft, it might be an indication that the Rams don’t think there’s a high likelihood of that change of heart coming to pass.
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