Jimmy Garoppolo sitting out Raiders' OTAs after reported foot surgery in March

Jimmy Garoppolo’s start to his Las Vegas Raiders tenure begins on the sidelines.

After signing with the Raiders in March, the veteran quarterback underwent surgery on the foot he injured last season, The Athletic reported Thursday. Las Vegas is said to be confident Garoppolo will be ready to play by the start of the regular season, but head coach Josh McDaniels told reporters Thursday that the quarterback “could be out” at least until the start of camp of training

Garoppolo suffered a left foot injury last December while playing for the San Francisco 49ers. It was originally feared that he would have a Lisfranc fracture that would require surgery, but that didn’t turn out to be the case and Garoppolo was hopeful of returning to the team if he made it to the Super Bowl.

Instead, the 49ers’ season ended in the NFC Championship Game when they lost their remaining healthy quarterbacks. But the surprising rise of rookie Brock Purdy, who had replaced Garoppolo in December, allowed San Francisco to let the veteran walk in free agency. Las Vegas signed Garoppolo to a three-year, $72.75 million contract with $45 million guaranteed just hours after free agency opened in March.

But when Garoppolo arrived at the team facility to sign his contract, his introductory press conference was pushed back a day. Garoppolo did not explain the postponement until a day later, but The Athletic reported that team doctors determined Garoppolo needed surgery on the injured foot.

As a result of the surgery, Garoppolo is not participating in team activities hosted by the Raiders this week. However, McDaniels doesn’t seem overly concerned about the situation.

“We don’t play a game for 100 days,” McDaniels told reporters. “Everything that’s happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew about it in advance … He was certainly aware of it. Our preference is not to push it and hold anybody back at this point.”

The Raiders signed Garoppolo after releasing starting quarterback Derek Carr. Las Vegas got Garoppolo for less than it would have cost Carr this season. The nine-year Raider was released just before his $40.4 million salary was fully guaranteed.

Where will the Raiders finish in the AFC West after Jimmy G, Darren Waller move?

In his six seasons with the 49ers, Garoppolo led them to the Super Bowl in 2019 and threw for 2,437 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions with a 103 passer rating in 10 games last season.

But Garoppolo has dealt with his fair share of injuries. During his tenure with the 49ers, the 31-year-old QB tore his ACL and suffered a severely sprained ankle in addition to his foot injury last season. In all, he missed 32 regular season and postseason games due to injury.

In addition to adding Garoppolo this offseason, the Raiders also signed veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer and drafted Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell to reshape their quarterback room.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience