Big QB Shuffle of ’18 fuels huge whirlwind
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Already a dozen NFL teams have new quarterbacks, half of them starters. And next month’s draft features a deep class of QB prospects, a half-dozen of which could hear their names called in the first round.
Why such a remarkable run on prime-time passers?
“They’re hard to find,” Denver Broncos general manager John Elway said after introducing Case Keenum as his fifth quarterback since Peyton Manning’s retirement just two years ago. “It’s a tough spot to play. There are a lot of expectations. It’s a hard position. There are a lot pressures on it. You’ve got to play with consistency and there are a lot of people that rely on that position.”
So, proven passers and projects alike see teams jockeying to throw multiple millions their way.
The harbinger of the “Great Quarterback Shuffle” of 2018 came during Super Bowl week when word got out that the Kansas City Chiefs were sending Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, freeing Kirk Cousins to become a free agent in his prime, one who would rewrite the conventional contract. Cousins made the media rounds at the Super Bowl, where he scouted out the city he would soon call his own.
Minnesota surged past Denver, Phoenix and New York as Cousins’ desired destination after the Vikings decided to let all three of their veteran quarterbacks hit the open market.
While Cousins was working out a three-year ground-breaking (fully guaranteed) and recordsetting ($28 million average) deal in Minnesota, the Broncos, Cardinals and Jets were picking through the Vikings’ quarterback bin:
Coming off a $2 million deal in Minnesota, Keenum commanded a two-year, $36 million deal in Denver after leading the Vikings to an 11-3 mark and the NFC championship game.
Sam Bradford, whose injury opened the way for Keenum’s breakout season, signed a one-year $20 million with the Cardinals, who lost Carson Palmer to retirement.
Teddy Bridgewater, once the Vikings’ established starter before a devastating knee injury two years ago, signed a one-year $5 million contract with the Jets, who also re-signed Josh McCown for one year at $10 million.
Trevor Siemian, the Olympia High alum who blew up the Broncos’ quarterback plans two straight summers by beating out 2016 first-round flop Paxton Lynch, heads to the Vikings as Cousins’ backup after going 13-11 in Denver.