Raiders release QB Garoppolo, receiver Renfrow
The Las Vegas Raiders kicked off the new league year by releasing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and receiver Hunter Renfrow to give the new regime more room to operate under the salary cap.
The Raiders also released backup quarterback Brian Hoyer and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery on Wednesday, minutes after the start of the league year.
The moves create significant salary-cap space for the Raiders to use this offseason as general manager Tom Telesco and coach Antonio Pierce look to build the team into a contender.
These decisions had been widely expected, as the Raiders benched Garoppolo midway through last season after Pierce took over for fired coach Josh McDaniels
and the other players were no longer part of the team’s long-term plans.
The Raiders had signed Garoppolo to a three-year, $72.75-million contract last offseason to take over for recently released Derek Carr,
but the move backfired almost from the start.
Garoppolo’s contract had to be reworked when he failed a physical and needed surgery on his previously injured foot, and he never played up to the level he had during his time in San Francisco after getting healthy.
Garoppolo made six starts for Las Vegas, throwing nine interceptions and only seven touchdowns before getting benched following the coaching change.
He then got suspended in February for the first two games of next season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, allowing the Raiders to void the $11.25-million guaranteed salary Garoppolo was supposed to receive. Las Vegas still will take a $17.1-million dead cap hit but will save at least $11.3 million.
The Raiders will start the offseason with a quarterback competition between second-year player Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew, who agreed this week to a two-year, $25-million deal, the Associated Press reported. Las Vegas also could opt to draft a quarterback. The Raiders have the 13th pick in next month’s draft.
Renfrow went from being one of the best additions under former coach Jon Gruden’s regime to a littleused player the last two seasons under McDaniels and Pierce.
A fifth-round pick in 2019, Renfrow emerged as the focal point of the passing game in 2021, when he had 103 catches for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl selection and help lead the Raiders to the playoffs. He got a two-year, $31.7million extension but was unable to repeat that production the last two seasons.
Wagner to Washington
Six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner is going to Washington, AP reported, on a one-year contract worth up to $8.5 million with $6 million guaranteed.
Wagner, who turns 34 this summer, led the NFL with 183 tackles last season in his return to Seattle after a year with the Rams. He becomes the centerpiece of the defense under Dan Quinn and is another player the new coach is plenty familiar with — Wagner played two seasons for him with the Seahawks in 2013 and ’14, winning a Super Bowl together.
“Seattle, we’ve done this before,” he posted on social media. “You know what it is. It’s always love. Until we meet again. I’m around.”
More moves
San Francisco and Miami released their longesttenured players, defensive tackle Arik Armstead of the 49ers and four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard of the Dolphins . ... Carolina agreed to a contract with cornerback Dane Jackson . ... Minnesota agreed to a new contract with defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard. ... Quarterback Brett Rypien ,a backup for the Rams last season, is joining Chicago on a one-year deal . ... The New York Jets are acquiring offensive tackle Morgan Moses and a fourth-round draft pick from Baltimore for a fourth- and sixth-rounder, the Associated Press reported. Other deals reported by AP: San Francisco is aquiring defensive tackle
Maliek Collins from Houston for a seventh-rounder; wide receiver Calvin Ridley (four years, $92 million) and quarterback Mason Rudolph (one year) are joining Tennessee; four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Danielle Hunter is joining Houston (two years, $49 million); safety Jordan Whitehead is joining Tampa Bay (two years, $9 million); safety
Rayshawn Jenkins is joining Seattle (no terms).
Also
Jacksonville receiver Zay Jones is no longer facing a misdemeanor domestic battery charge after the state attorney’s office dropped it.