(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
NFL fans have a very interesting theory as to why the Los Angeles Rams signed veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in free agency.

The Las Vegas Raiders released the 32-year-old quarterback just one year after giving him a three-year deal worth $72.75 million in 2023 free agency. He wasn’t on the open market for long, as Jimmy Garoppolo happily agreed to a one-year deal with the Rams worth up to up $12 million, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Rams made sense for Jimmy G for a couple of reasons. They’re a playoff-contending squad for starters. On top of that, Garoppolo gets to work with one of the best offensive-minded head coaches ever in Sean McVay.

But some fans on X/Twitter have an even more ludicrous theory as to why the Rams brought in Jimmy Garoppolo: For the simple fact that the veteran signal-caller would model team merchandise:

Jimmy Garoppolo spent his first three and a half seasons as Tom Brady’s backup with the New England Patriots before getting traded to the San Francisco 49ers midway through the 2017 season.

He’d spent the next five years there before joining the Raiders in what turned out to be a disappointing tenure. Garoppolo lost his starting job midway through the season to Aidan O’Connell, who held down the job for the final stretch.

Jimmy Garoppolo Is A Good Insurance Option For The Rams

For as much criticism as he gets, Jimmy Garoppolo is one of the safer insurance options in the NFL right now. Over his 10 seasons, he has appeared in 81 games (63 starts) and thrown for 15,494 passing yards and 94 touchdowns.

Garoppolo won two Super Bowl rings as Brady’s understudy and helped the 49ers to a Super Bowl 54 appearance in the 2019 season. He also got them to the 2021 NFC title game, where they narrowly fell to the Rams.

Rams starter Matthew Stafford has battled various injuries over the last three years, so it doesn’t at all hurt the club to bring in an experienced No. 2 option like Garoppolo for insurance.