Raiders release Jimmy Garoppolo and Hunter Renfrow in cost-cutting moves
The Las Vegas Raiders kicked off the start of 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, just minutes after the start of the 2024 league year.
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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 as quarterback from 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 TDs before getting benched following the coaching change.
He then got suspended in February for the the first two games of next season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, allowing the Raiders to void the $11.25 million guaranteed salary Garoppolo was supposed to be owed in 2024.
Las Vegas will still take a $17.1 million dead cap hit but will save at least $11.3 million on this year’s cap.
The Raiders will start the offseason with a quarterback competition between second-year player Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Minshew agreed earlier this week to a two-year, $25 million deal, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move hadn’t been announced.
Las Vegas also could opt to draft a quarterback to add to the mix. The Raiders have the 13th pick in next month’s draft.
Renfrow went from being one of the best additions under Jon Gruden’s regime to a little-used player the past 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 nod.
