Does the Jimmy Garoppolo suspension move him off the Broncos’ QB list?

Jimmy Garoppolo might make sense for the Broncos and Sean Payton.

He’s a rhythm-and-timing passer, for one thing. His strengths — including his work as an intermediate-range passer over the years — appear to suit the Payton offense to a tee. And the fact that he’s an Eastern Illinois University product doesn’t hurt his cause, either. After all, Payton matriculated there. And one of the massive Payton success stories is Tony Romo, who Payton developed for three years in Dallas before departing for the New Orleans Saints.

So, between the skill set and the connection, it’s hard to avoid connecting dots between Jimmy Garoppolo and the Broncos if they do decide to move on from Russell Wilson.

But his two-game suspension for a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances does complicate things a bit. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first broke news of that suspension Friday.

If the Broncos draft a quarterback of the future in Round 1, a veteran addition would have a chance to compete with Jarrett Stidham to start while that young passer develops. And it’s possible the Broncos would keep only the winner of that competition, with the rookie serving as backup.

But with Garoppolo, they’d need to keep both veteran quarterbacks, since he’d be unavailable for the first two weeks.

REGARDING JIMMY GAROPPOLO, IT’S NOT JUST THE SUSPENSION

Jimmy Garoppolo officially remains with the Las Vegas Raiders, who are expected to release him next month before an eight-figure roster bonus is due. But the die was cast for Garoppolo when he suffered a back injury against the New England Patriots in Week 6 last season.

Garoppolo had already sat out one game due to injury. After the back problem, he missed one game before returning. But in that single game he missed due to the back problem — started by Brian Hoyer — rookie Aidan O’Connell played late and sparked the Raiders offense. So, after Las Vegas lost in Garoppolo’s return to action against Detroit, O’Connell got the starting job, aided by the dismissal of coach Josh McDaniels in favor of Antonio Pierce.

Garoppolo didn’t start again. The Raiders didn’t miss him, as it turned out.

What’s more, the injuries continued a pattern for Garoppolo going back to 2018, when he tore his ACL three games into the season. With the exception of 2019, he’s missed multiple games due to injuries in every season in the past six years.

And his first season outside of the Shanahan-McVay scheme — the 6 games he started last year for Las Vegas — saw the worst play of his career.

Take the suspension, the injury history and the decline in form, and it seems like a bet on the 32-year-old Garoppolo would be a shaky one.