Raiders GM open to drafting a QB despite signing Jimmy Garoppolo: 'Closing that door' would be 'irresponsible'

Dave Ziegler also says the team feels 'comfortable' with the homework they've done on Jalen Carter

Owners of the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders are not ruling anything out. That includes selecting a quarterback, despite the fact that they signed former San Francisco 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year, $72.75 million contract earlier this offseason. 

Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler told reporters in a pre-draft media availability on Friday the team would keep an "open mind" to the idea of selecting a quarterback this year. 

"Anytime you can find a young player at that position that's going to have an impact on your team, you have to keep an open mind to that," Ziegler said, via The Athletic. "Of course, we're excited to have Jimmy. And having Jimmy does supply us with a very high-quality starting player on the position, so we feel comfortable with that, but I think to close that door and just say that that's not something you would do because of X, Y and Z, that's not the business that we're in."

As far as why the team might be willing to do that, Ziegler indicated that it's related to the value of having a good QB on a rookie-scale contract. 

"The value of that position and having a young guy that can come in and play and contribute -- we see where those contracts have gone on quarterbacks, too -- so there's obviously an advantage of having a quarterback on a rookie contract in terms of roster construction and those types of things," Ziegler said. "I think just closing that door, it's irresponsible to do that."

Ziegler further indicated that Garoppolo may not necessarily be the Raiders' starter under center, noting they're "open to hav[ing] a competition at the quarterback position and every other position on the roster." It seems at least somewhat unlikely the Raiders would have somebody other than Garoppolo start for them in 2023, but stranger things have certainly happened in the NFL. The structure of his contract allows the team to move on after the 2023 season with minimal cap damage anyway, so it's not like it's married to him as the starter long term. 

Another hot topic was the potential the Raiders could draft former Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter. He's considered by some to be one of the best players in the 2023 class, but has been rumored to be sliding down draft boards due to off-field concerns, such as a no contest plea to two misdemeanor charges of racing and reckless driving following a car crash that killed a former college teammate and a recruiting analyst at the school. 

"We looked at Jalen like every other player that's in the draft," Ziegler said of Carter. "I don't think we want to cheat the process with any prospect in that regard. We want to hit those bases for each individual prospect. And, of course, on some prospects it's deeper; there's just more things to look at and more things to consider based on their situation. Jalen, in that regard, was similar to a lot of players in the draft and we feel very comfortable with the work that we've done on him."

That doesn't necessarily mean the Raiders are committed to taking (or not taking) Carter, just that they feel comfortable with the work they did on him, just as they do with any other prospect. With Vegas picking at No. 7, it may not have to worry about the potential of passing on Carter, but it seems likely that the quarterback issue will come up at one point or another in the process. The Raiders are apparently open to the idea of adding one, but again, that doesn't necessarily mean they definitively will do so.