According to a source, Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (back) will not play against the Bears; the Raiders must make a quarterback selection.
According to a league source, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears due to a back issue. The Las Vegas Review-Journal broke the story first. Here’s what you should know:
Garoppolo suffered the injury during last weekend’s victory over the New England Patriots in the second quarter. He was rushed to the hospital after leaving the game due to concerns about internal damage.
According to Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, Garoppolo’s “prognosis is a lot better” than the team expected, and the quarterback is still undergoing tests to assess his game status.
The Bears announced earlier this week that starting quarterback Justin Fields is questionable for Sunday’s game due to a dislocated thumb.
The Raiders must make a selection at quarterback.
While internal issues have been ruled out, Garoppolo’s injury is bad enough that he will miss time. It’s unknown who will start against the Bears: Brian Hoyer or Aidan O’Connell.
Hoyer is the backup when Garoppolo is healthy and stepped in to play the second half against the Patriots in his place, but O’Connell started against the Chargers in Week 4 with Garoppolo out due to a concussion. The Raiders have a decision to make.
Against the Chargers, O’Connell completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 238 yards, threw an interception, rushed for a touchdown and lost two fumbles. Last week against the Patriots, Hoyer completed 60 percent of his passes for 102 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. — Tashan Reed, Raiders writer
Adams looking for more opportunities with another QB
This news comes one day after Davante Adams expressed frustration about his role within the Raiders’ struggling offense. Whether it’s Hoyer or O’Connell who gets the start in Garoppolo’s place, the receiver will expect a significant uptick in opportunities Sunday. In the last two games combined, he’s had just nine targets and posted a pedestrian stat line of six catches for 74 yards.
Hoyer only threw Adams the ball twice in the second half last week and that resulted in one catch for 21 yards. That may have been more of a product of the Raiders’ shifting to a run-first approach to preserve what was a 10-point halftime lead, but that’s not going to cut it.
When O’Connell got his lone action this season, he targeted Adams 13 times, which is his second most in a game all year, and the receiver turned that into eight catches for 75 yards. That’s closer to what Adams will be looking for on Sunday. — Reed
