Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo out for Week 7 vs. Bears due to back injury, per report
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo won't take the field for Sunday's Week 7 matchup with the Chicago Bears due to a back injury, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday.
Garoppolo hurt his back against the New England Patriots on Oct. 15 and didn't return for the second half of the 21-17 win.
Garoppolo reportedly left Allegiant Stadium in an ambulance. Schefter reported the 31-year-old went to the hospital after the game for "precautionary tests on his back."
"The prognosis was a lot better than it might have otherwise been,” Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels told reporters following the news of Garoppolo's hospitalization.
Garoppolo also missed the Raiders' 24-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 because he was in concussion protocol.
In his first season with Las Vegas, Garoppolo is completing 68 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
It's unclear which backup the Raiders will turn to in their QB1's absence. Veteran Brian Hoyer filled in during last week's win over the Patriots and led the Raiders to two field-goal drives. He completed 6 of 10 passes for 102 yards without an interception or touchdown in his two quarters. One of those passes was a 48-yard completion to rookie wideout Tre Tucker shortly after the second half began.
Rookie Aidan O'Connell is also an option. He got his first career start in the Raiders' loss to the Chargers, an outing that saw him get sacked six times by none other than former Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack. That considered, O'Connell's stat line (238 yards, interception and no touchdowns) seems commendable.
O'Connell was a fourth-round draft pick out of Purdue. The 25-year-old has about the same amount of professional experience as the Bears quarterback he could be going up against Sunday.
Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent was called upon when Bears quarterback Justin Fields left the team's Week 6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a hand injury. Fields has a dislocated thumb that is likely to keep him out for a few weeks.
Bagent, 23, will be the fourth Division II quarterback to start an NFL game in the past 20 years. It would be interesting if that milestone took place in a battle of young backups.
