Jimmy Garoppolo gives his side of the story on why he was suspended by NFL

As expected, new Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo blamed a mistake for why he’s suspended 2 games

Whenever an NFL player is suspended for using Performance-Enhancing Drugs, you can basically predict with 100% accuracy the reason he will give for the failed test: “It was a mistake” or “I didn’t know what I was taking”. The case of new Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is no different.

Garoppolo, who was signed last week to replace Carson Wentz as the backup to Matthew Stafford for the 2024 season, will be suspended for the first two games of the year because of a failed drug test. L.A.’s backup told the media on Tuesday that he “messed up” and violated the policy because he thought he would get an exemption for a drug that was used for therapeutic reasons.

The Therapeutic Use Exemption as explained by the website Athletics Integrity is as follows:

A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) is an official medical document giving an athlete permission to take a medication that is ordinarily prohibited for the treatment of a legitimate condition. It is only valid for a given period of time.

It permits the athlete to take the defined medication while competing without them registering a doping offence.

It is NOT a drug or a medication.

Garoppolo went into concussion protocol in Week 4 and suffered a back injury in Week 6. He has one of the longest and most extensive injury histories of any quarterback in the NFL. DraftSharks predicts a 65% chance of injury in 2024, which presumably is based on playing every game and that is not expected on the Rams. However, there’s a significant risk that Stafford will miss at least one game in 2024.

Garoppolo, who looks a bit like an AI in his interview, does take some accountability for his suspension, maybe, by saying that “I messed up” and not that someone else screwed him over. However, you’re never going to hear an NFL player say, “I wanted an advantage, I want to enhance my performance with drugs, so that’s why I did it and I’m sorry.”

With Garoppolo suspended for two games, the Rams must be looking at Stetson Bennett and Dresser Winn to compete for the third spot and a two-week trial as the backup until the veteran is off the suspension list. That is unless L.A. adds another quarterback in free agency, the draft, or trade.