Earlier this month, free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was reportedly “weighing a few options.”
One of those options includes not playing for anyone.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Garoppolo is considering retirement.
Garoppolo, 34, was a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2014. Traded to the 49ers, Garoppolo became the starter immediately. He signed after his first season a contract that made him, at the time, the highest-paid player in the NFL.
After the 2022 season, Garoppolo signed with the Raiders as a free agent. He then went to the Rams for 2024 and 2025.
The Cardinals had been linked to Garoppolo in free agency. A snag during contract talks resulted in the Cardinals signing Gardner Minshew.
The Rams, who have only Matthew Stafford and Stetson Bennett on the roster, continue to be interested in Garoppolo.
For now, Garoppolo has to decide whether he’s interested in playing for what would be a 13th NFL season.
During the scouting combine, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier noted that during the 2025 season, he was dealing with a rare injury that caused him to feel a “stabbing pain” in his abdomen while throwing.
While Nussmeier did not reveal the exact nature of the injury then, there is now more clarity on what he was going through.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Nussmeier underwent tests at the combine that revealed a cyst on his spine, which was the root cause of his abdominal pain. He is not subject to short- or long-term risk with it.
Pelissero notes the cyst was pressing on a nerve, which then caused Nussmeier’s discomfort in his oblique. The quarterback has not been feeling the symptoms of the cyst since just before the Senior Bowl, getting through the pre-draft process healthy. If that status changes, Nussmeier could undergo a procedure that would keep him out for just two or three weeks while his stitches heal.
Entering the 2025 season, Nussmeier was a co-betting favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft. But with his injury, Nussmeier was not as effective in 2025, completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 1,927 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions in nine games.
In 2024, Nussmeier completed 64.2 percent of his throws for 4,052 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 picks.
The UFL used a rare in-season Sunday with no games to make a little news.
The spring league announced a pair of trades involving four teams and four quarterbacks.
The Birmingham Stallions have acquired quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson from the Orlando Storm in exchange for quarterback Matt Corral and defensive end Amani Bledsoe. Also, the D.C. Defenders sent quarterback Mike DiLiello to the Louisville Kings for quarterback Jason Bean.
The Thompson-Robinson for Corral trade is the far bigger transaction. Corral, a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2022, started the first four games of the 2026 season for Birmingham and first-year head coach A.J. McCarron. He has completed 71 of 110 passes for 768 yards, five touchdown passes, and four interceptions.
The Storm shut out the Stallions and Corral on Saturday, 16-0. Jack Plummer (not relation to Jake) is the current starter for the Storm.
Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick of the Browns in 2023, had appeared in one game this year for the Storm.
Most teams have a clear starting quarterback, obvious contenders for the job, or (at a minimum) concepts of a plan for the position.
The Cardinals, by all appearances, have none of the above.
G.M. Monti Ossenfort made clear this week that the Cardinals don’t have a starter. And to the extent a competition will be unfolding during the offseason program, Jacoby Brissett won’t be there unless and until he gets a new contract.
The other in-house options, for now, are Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis.
Before free agency started, Jimmy Garoppolo was linked to Arizona. The Cardinals pivoted to Minshew when talks with Garoppolo broke down.
Garoppolo remains available. Aaron Rodgers is on the market, too. (It’s hard to imagine him having any interest in the team that is stuck in a division with the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers.) Derek Carr has made noise about a possible unretirement, but he wants to play for a contender. The Cardinals can’t fairly be described with that label.
That leaves the draft. Unless the Cardinals trade up to No. 1 (which is highly unlikely at this point, but not impossible), the next best option is Ty Simpson. They could, in theory, trade down and take Simpson in a lower spot. And there could be a team that sufficiently covets running back Jeremiyah Love to try to leapfrog the Titans at No. 4.
Other available free-agent options with starting experience include Russell Wilson and Tyrod Taylor. Most of the others have signed contracts to be backups (Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco) and a bridge starter (Kirk Cousins, if/when the Raiders take Fernando Mendoza).
As the cliche-because-it’s-true saying goes, you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. At quarterback, there’s no indication that the Cardinals are getting better at the most important position on the team. And there’s no sign they have a clear plan for doing so.
Maybe the overriding plan, if there is one, is to accept reality for 2026 and allow nature to take its course. The prize could be dibs on whoever the top quarterback is after the 2026 college football season.
The popular assumption is that it will be Arch Manning. As we’ve seen, however, the player who emerges as the consensus number one for the next year could be a player no one is even thinking about currently. It happened with Mendoza. It happened with Joe Burrow.
Beyond the six games to be played within the NFC West, the Cardinals will face the four teams of the AFC West (which produced two playoff teams in 2025 and still includes the Chiefs), the four teams of the NFC East, and the Lions (who finished last in the NFC North). That’s a recipe for earning the first overall pick in 2027.
Not having a clear plan at quarterback becomes a key ingredient in the stew of factors that could position Arizona for its next shot at a generational talent without having to try very hard to make that happen, once the 2026 season launches.
Former Bears and Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery has denied allegations in California of insurance fraud.
Earlier this week, TMZ reported that Jeffery was arrested and charged with a felony that carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more details, along with Jeffery’s denial.
The specific accusation is that Jeffery had been involved in an automobile accident on September 21, 2025. His insurance allegedly had lapsed. He thereafter purchased a new policy on September 24 and allegedly claimed the accident happened on September 28.
Denise White of EAG Sports Management told the Inquirer that the allegations are “unfounded.” She called the situation “a misunderstanding and nothing more.”
If it’s a misunderstanding, Jeffery’s top priority should be to get the prosecutors to understand. Instead, he reportedly failed to appear in court March 9. That led to the warrant for his arrest. He was freed on $25,000 bond. He’s scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, April 23.
The case should be very simple to clarify. When did the accident happen? When was the insurance policy purchased? Did Jeffery have insurance in place when the accident happened?
A second-round pick in 2012, Jeffery spent five years with the Bears and four with the Eagles. He was a member of the Super Bowl LII-winning team in Philly.
