Rams Would Love To Sign Jimmy Garoppolo Or Kirk Cousins As Backup

In an interview with Pro Football Talk at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona, Rams HC Sean McVay said they would love to either re-sign QB Jimmy Garoppolo as the backup to Matthew Stafford, or end up landing QB Kirk Cousins.

McVay said Garoppolo is going through his process to make a decision about the upcoming season. He said Cousins is as influential as anyone in helping him become a coach with the Rams and someone they’d add if it doesn’t work out with Garoppolo. 

“We do need to be able to add another guy to that room,” McVay said. “…I know [Cousins] has got some other options and some other suitors, but Jimmy and Kirk are guys that I would love to be able to have back with us.” 

There was a lot of buzz between Garoppolo and the Cardinals earlier this offseason but Arizona has since signed QB Gardner Minshew. 

As for Cousins, he’s expected to be patient in the hopes of securing a starting opportunity at some point down the line. 

Garoppolo, 34, is a former second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2014. The Patriots traded him to the 49ers in 2017 at the trade deadline in return for a 2018 second-round pick.

Garoppolo was in line to be an unrestricted free agent when the 49ers signed him to a five-year, $137.5 million contract during the 2018 offseason.

He was set to make a base salary of $24.2 million in 2022 when he agreed to a pay cut in exchange for a no-tag clause. Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.8 million deal with the Raiders but wound up being cut by the team.

Garoppolo joined the Rams in 2024 and was suspended for violating the performance-enhancing substance policy, serving a two-game suspension. Los Angeles re-signed him to a one-year extension last offseason. 

In 2024, Garoppolo appeared in one game for the Rams and completed 65.9 percent of his pass attempts for 334 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

Cousins, 37, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons. 

Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.

He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons this offseason. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million in guaranteed money. 

In 2025, Cousins appeared in 10 games for the Falcons, starting eight, and completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

We’ll have more on Garoppolo, Cousins and the Rams as the news is available.