NFL QBS ON THE MOVE IN 2021
Is more than half the league looking for a quarterback upgrade in 2021?
Digruntled. Too old. Too young. Retired. Half the NFL could be considering a new Week 1 quarterback in 2021. So what’s behind the unprecedented movement?
Detroit and the Los Angeles Rams have already swapped quarterbacks. Indianapolis, Washington and Chicago — all 2020 playoff teams — haven’t declared their intentions … and may not know them just yet.
Jacksonville is saving its spot for top overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence.
Former top-five picks Carson Wentz (Philadelphia) and Sam Darnold (New York Jets) may both be on the trading block.
Seattle has a quarterback who may be disgruntled (Russell Wilson).
Houston has one who is definitely disgruntled (Deshaun Watson).
And the Broncos are one of several teams with returning starters whose eyes are wandering.
Welcome to Quarterback Carousel 2021, which could feature an unprecedented amount of movement.
A month ahead of the free agent/trade season and two-plus months ahead of the draft, half the NFL could be considering a new Week 1 quarterback in’ 21. So why, all of a sudden, is there so much quarterback tumult?
Too much, too soon. The huge contracts handed to Wentz and then-Rams quarterback Jared Goff represented rushes to judgment. Goff was flipped to Detroit for Matthew Stafford and Wentz apparently wants out of Philadelphia even after the dismissal of coach Doug Pederson.
No patience. The Broncos’ Drew Lock is 24 and has started 18 games and the Jets’ Sam Darnold is actually younger than Lock (23). More and more, teams are worrying about who their next quarterback is instead of trying to make it work with their current one.
Retirements and age. Philip Rivers (Indianapolis) has already retired, Drew Brees (New Orleans) is headed that way. Alex Smith (Washington) and Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh) are 36 and 38, respectively.
Player empowerment . We aren’t going the way of the NBA, where the top players pick their new team (even if under contract) and then convince their friends to form super teams. However, Stafford asked out of Detroit, Watson has asked out of Houston and Wilson spent the past week delivering cryptic hints about his future.
Heading into the offseason, putting the 32 teams’ quarterback situations into seven categories:
Category 1
They feel good about their quarterback … and should.
Arizona: Kyler Murray helped improve the Cardinals from 5-10-1 in his rookie year to 8-8 in 2020 and he threw six more TDs (up to 26).
Baltimore: Lamar Jackson’s regular-season stats — 30-7 record, 68 touchdown passes, 18 interceptions and two consecutive 1,000yard rushing years. The Ravens need to get Jackson a top receiver (Chicago’s Allen Robinson?).
Buffalo: No quarterback showed more improvement in ’20 than Josh Allen, who had 37 touchdowns and a 107.2 rating.
Cleveland: Like Allen, Baker Mayfield took a big Year 2-toYear 3 jump and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Dallas: The Cowboys have uncertainty about Dak Prescott’s ankle and his contract status (free agent). But at the very least, Prescott will be tagged for the second consecutive year.
Green Bay: In his age-36 season, Aaron Rodgers won NFL MVP. Throw out his postgame comments last month — he’ll be back with the Packers.
Kansas City: Two words — Patrick Mahomes.
L.A. Chargers: Justin Herbert went 6-9 and had 31 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 98.3 rating as a rookie.
Tampa Bay: Tom Brady will be back for his age-44 season and totaled 50 regular season/playoff touchdown passes.
Tennessee: The Titans’ offense goes through two-time NFL rushing champion Derrick Henry, but Ryan Tannehill has been a morethan-effective starter.
Category 2
They feel good about their quarterback … but should they?
Cincinnati: Joe Burrow was sacked 32 times in 10 games (torn ACL). The Bengals need to get Burrow offensive line help and hope his rehabilitation makes him available for Week 1.
L.A. Rams: Stafford, 33, has never won a playoff game and is 16 games under .500 as a regularseason starter in his career. The Rams don’t have a first-round pick until 2024 so he better be a multi-year guy.
Miami: Tua Tagovailoa was the fifth overall pick last year and the Dolphins appear committed to him. But what if Watson wants to play there?
N.Y. Giants: Daniel Jones is 8-18 in two years (35 touchdowns/22 interceptions). One more year to prove himself, we guess.
Philadelphia: Jalen Hurts started the final four games when Pederson gave up on Wentz.
Category 3
Our veteran will get us through 2021.
Atlanta: The Falcons hope new coach Arthur Smith’s run game can take pressure off veteran Matt Ryan, who led the NFL with 626 pass attempts in 2020.
Minnesota: A critical year for the Vikings, who could see sweeping changes if Kirk Cousins can’t lead them back to the playoffs. Cutting Cousins in March 2022 creates $25 million in cap space.
Pittsburgh: Roethlisberger returned from a 2019 elbow injury to throw 33 touchdowns. The Steelers signed first-round bust Dwayne Haskins last month, perhaps to see if he can be developed to take over in ’22?
Category 4
They’re
Jacksonville: The chance to take Lawrence could make enduring a 1-15 season totally worth it.
drafting Trevor Lawrence.
Category 5
Their eyes are wandering.
Broncos: They made an offer for Stafford, who would have been the team’s fifth different Week 1 quarterback in as many years. Lock’s turnover issues would be the main reason for change.
N.Y. Jets: Holding the second pick in the draft, the Jets could start over at quarterback with BYU’s Zach Wilson or Ohio State’s Justin Fields. Or they could stick with Darnold (13-25 in three years).
Carolina: The Panthers were interested in Stafford before he was flipped to the Rams. Veteran Teddy Bridgewater went 4-11 (15 touchdowns/11 interceptions) last year.
Category 6
Only they know their plan . Chicago: Mitchell Trubisky is a free agent and Nick Foles went 2-5 as the starter. The futures of general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy depend on how they address the quarterback position.
Detroit: Is Goff really the Lions’ Week 1 starter? The Lions could draft a quarterback in the top 10 and Goff might merely keep the seat warm.
Indianapolis: Rivers retired and Jacoby Brissett is a free agent. Stafford would have been a perfect fit. Now? Who knows.
New England: Alabama’s Mac Jones with the 15th pick or Jimmy Garoppolo if he’s cut by San Francisco? Either will be an upgrade over Cam Newton.
New Orleans: It’s a decent guess Jameis Winston is the preferred choice to replace Brees in 2021. But Winston is a free agent so the Saints need an affordable Plan B.
San Francisco: Releasing Jimmy Garoppolo would create $20.8 million in cap space. Watson would be a perfect fit if he’s available. If not, maybe the affordable veteran route or trading for Darnold?
Washington: Smith went 5-1 as the starter, but his age (37 in May) and durability are concerns.
Category 7
The wild cards.
Houston: The Texans have maintained they won’t trade Watson, but this is a franchise in need of draft picks and play-right-away veterans. That may force their hand.
Las Vegas: It’s actually surprising Jon Gruden has stuck with Derek Carr for three non-playoff years. Any chance he shops Carr and goes with current backup Marcus Mariota?
Seattle: There is a method to everything Wilson says so his comments about the punishment he’s taken and the future should be taken seriously.
Gonzaga and Baylor have played like the nation’s best teams all year. The committee that will ultimately select the field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament sees it that way, too.
The Bulldogs were the No. 1 overall seed followed by the Bears in rankings released Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. It was part of a snapshot of the top 16 seeds with a month to go before Selection Sunday, starting with the teams that have been 1-2 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll all season and remain unbeaten.
“No mystery here,” Kentucky athletics director and committee chairman Mitch Barnhart said. “There’s two teams that have been amazing all year.”
Third-ranked Michigan and fourth-ranked Ohio State followed as the other two No. 1 seeds, while fellow Big Ten team Illinois was the top No. 2 seed and fifth overall.
The Big 12 had the biggest haul in this initial list with five teams. Beyond Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma were No. 3 seeds, while Texas Tech and Texas were No. 4s.
Villanova, Alabama and Houston joined Illinois as the other No. 2 seeds. Virginia and Tennessee joined the Mountaineers and Sooners as No. 3 seeds, while Iowa and Missouri were the other No. 4 seeds.
This first run of seedings comes amid postponements and pauses for teams due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of last year’s tournament. The Wolverines are a notable example; they’re returning from a three-week hiatus Sunday.
Barnhart said “no one is going to be penalized for being on pause.” He also pointed back to traditional evaluations such as winning on the road, citing challenges such as following testing protocols while traveling even while playing in venues with few or no fans.
Barnhart said 17th-ranked Florida State and 20th-ranked Southern California were among the most discussed teams that didn’t make the cut, saying the Seminoles and Trojans were “certainly bumping their heads” on that list.
The entire tournament will be played in Indiana because of the coronavirus pandemic, so the brackets lacked their traditional geographic names. Instead, Gonzaga headlined Region 1 and was paired with Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa.
Baylor was the No. 1 in Region 2, followed by Illinois, Tennessee and Texas. Michigan sat atop Region 3, grouped with Houston, West Virginia and Missouri. And in Region 4, Ohio State was joined by Villanova, Virginia and Texas Tech.
Selection Sunday is March 14, with the Final Four taking place in Indianapolis April 3, followed by the national championship game two days later.
NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said the NCAA is requiring seven consecutive days of COVID-19 testing for teams before arriving for the tournament, as well as daily testing throughout their stay.
A positive test would trigger steps such as isolation from others and contact tracing, but Gavitt said there was “a procedure and protocols in place that should not eliminate teams from the entirety of the tournament” if they follow guidelines such as wearing masks and avoid close contact with others.