Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Patience key while riding QB carousel
Dolphins could land decent vet or draft pick if they wait for free-agent dominoes to fall
Think of the quarterback carousel as a game of musical chairs. Round and round we go, and when the music stops everyone needs to find a seat.
The Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants are the quarterback-thirsty teams this offseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers are the franchises that need to start thinking about a Plan B because of their starters’ injury history, or lack of development.
The quarterback market has seemed to be lukewarm so far this offseason, but it’s early. Desperate teams usually do desperate things when it comes to this position. This offseason, the Dolphins better not fall into that trap.
Whether it is a rookie quarterback, an established veteran hitting free agency, or a stopgap option meant to hold it down for a season, quarterbacks are usually the first domino to fall in free agency.
Don’t expect this year to be any different, and the Dolphins would benefit from playing the waiting game.
The Eagles gave Nick Foles his freedom, and the Super Bowl-winning quarterback will likely be the prize of free agency for some quarterback-bereft team.
Expect the winner of the
Foles sweepstakes to be the Jaguars, who recently hired his former quarterback coach, John DeFilippo, as their offensive coordinator and feel they are a respectable quarterback away from being a contender.
If Foles does land in Jacksonville for an $18-20 million a year deal, expect Blake Bortles to lose his seat, getting released or traded.
Bortles will then join a decent, but not overwhelming crop of free-agent quarterbacks who have had some success, but aren’t viewed as franchisechanging talents.
That list includes Tyrod Taylor, Teddy Bridgewater, Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Sam Bradford.
The Dolphins are expected to add Ryan Tannehill to that list if they can’t find a trade partner in the coming weeks.
Miami’s new coaching staff wants to pretend they are still evaluating Tannehill, but it’s merely posturing because Tannehill isn’t worth the $18.75 million he’s scheduled to make in 2019.
That few people in the organization believe in Tannehill anymore — if they ever did — makes it obvious that his days in South Florida are numbered.
But where will Tannehill land, and will it be as a starter?
The Giants were thought to be moving on from Eli Manning, but they’ll will give the 38 year old one more season to prove he can still lead the franchise to the playoffs and draft a successor early because it’s long overdue.
Arizona owns the No. 1 pick and has been batting its eyes at Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner.
Kliff Klingsbury, the Cardinals new coach, coached against Murray at Texas Tech, and is a fan.
Before landing the Cardinals job, Klingsbury said Murray would be his selection as the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft. Now that he’s in position to actually make this happen, we’ll learn how the franchise really feels about Josh Rosen, who Arizona traded up to select with the 10th pick in last year’s draft.
“Is Josh Rosen our quarterback? Yeah, he is, right now, for sure,” Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said a the NFL scouting combine last week.
“Right now,” isn’t exactly an endorsement. It’s a placeholder, which is exactly how Rosen, who led Arizona to a 3-10 record and possessed a 66.7 passer rating as a rookie, should be described.
I wasn’t a Rosen fan in the draft process last year. His personality screams entitlement, which makes me think he’s this generation’s Jimmy Clausen.
The Cardinals could be trying to leverage the hype surrounding Murray into a trade down that will help Arizona acquire multiple first-round picks. But if Keim wants to save his job, and he’s indeed on the hot seat, he’ll pick Murray and trade Rosen.
Problem is, the list of teams that could be interested in sending Arizona a second- or thirdround pick for Rosen will likely be a short one. And Miami better not be on it.
The Denver Broncos have agreed to trade a fourth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens to acquire veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, which means Case Keenum’s days in Denver are likely numbered.
Even though Broncos executive John Elway’s talking about Keenum and Flacco competing for the starting, don’t be surprised to see Keenum and his $18 million contract are moved in the coming weeks, possibly to Washington.
That franchise has to find a new quarterback because Alex Smith’s career is in jeopardy due to the gruesome leg injury he suffered last December. If Jay Gruden wants to keep his job for a seventh season, he’s got to do better than Colt McCoy taking the snaps.
It will be interesting to see if Gruden pursues Keenum, trades with Cincinnati to acquire Andy Dalton — his former protégé — takes an interest in Tannehill, or drafts a quarterback early.
After Foles finds a home, Washington’s the franchise to watch because their decision could shift the entire quarterback landscape, impacting Miami.
Murray, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Missouri’s Drew Lock are viewed as the tier-one quarterback options in the draft. They should all be first-round picks. But which teams target them, and how high they will go is yet to be determined.
In the coming days, free agency should provide some hints. If Miami plays this just right, when the quarterback carousel stops spinning, a decent quarterback could very well fall into the Dolphins’ lap, and the price might not be too taxing.