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Washington's available paths to a quarterback


Woz

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So, after taking off about six (1) weeks from football, I dropped my head back into that time honored tradition here at the Washington forum: figuring out what to do at quarterback. I had noticed that there were various threads of discussion that would crop up here and there as to "what about this guy" or "rumors he's available." So I thought I would help @Thaiphoon and @naptownskinsfan a bit and maybe consolidate the conversations into one thread to try and keep it sane for them. (2)

I thought about naming this thread "Path to THE Quarterback" or "Choose Your Own Adventure: QB edition" but the former implies that there is one answer, and the latter implies there are "bad paths" along the way. In reality, all of these options have upsides and downsides, with different time horizons for possibly competing for a Super Bowl. None of them are guaranteed. No, not even a sell out trade for ... a big name established stud. (3) As we all know, one injury and the whole trajectory for a franchise altering decision can go completely haywire.

I'm not about to be prescriptive (say what they should do (4)) but more descriptive (what they could do). I'm going to take a swing at guessing the outcomes but at the end of the day, it's just a guess (5). Also, as is my wont, this is going to be long and winding. There won't be a TL;DR for you. So, @Jeezy Fanatic, I'm going to steal your thunder and tell you not to read this because you'll get bored. (6)

So without further ado:

 

OPTION 1: "Let's do that again!" (7)
Everyone has been so focused on this quarterback's fit or the cost to acquire that quarterback, but there is an option that doesn't seem to get much attention: essentially do nothing to rock the boat. It is basically an article of faith that Alex Smith is retiring or that Washington will cut him in March. But why? With Smith at the helm for just 38% of the season, Washington went 5-1. (8) That mini-surge catapulted them from a top 5 pick to winning the division. (9) Yes, his calf muscle effectively seized up on him late in the season, but if Rivera and Smith want to do it, a full offseason of strength training focused on maximizing mobility and flexibility(10) could go a long way to making Smith a decent solution under center.

At this point, you may be asking "why would you do this?!" One of the concerns about Smith has been his contract and his dead cap number. It has been treated like a millstone. I was guilty of that mainly because I was sure that he would never see the field again, much less start six games for Washington. However, Smith has shown that he can in fact play. So, a QB depth chart of Alex Smith/Kyle Allen/Taylor Heinicke(11) is viable.

The upside of this option is that it simplifies the QB search: you don't worry about it beyond the QB prospects in the draft and only if you get value at your natural selection. You only worry about trade up scenarios unless someone you like is falling further than you expected (Justin Fields inexplicably falls beyond San Francisco at 12?), but those are the crazy "What if?" games you play when rehearsing the draft. It also gives the offense some continuity and the team an identity (12): a ball control, clocking eating attack with a voracious defense that will punish their opponents. Is it sexy? No. However, it's viable.

The downside of this option is that it puts a lot into the continued health of a soon-to-be 37 year old quarterback who is not yet a year removed from the question of whether he would ever walk normally again, much less play professional football. If his health falters, you would now be relying on two quarterbacks with 18 combined starts between them.

In all likelihood, choosing this option is effectively kicking the can down the road. However, given a COVID-ridden year, where players both in college and the pros had shortened seasons and practice time, this is not necessarily the wrong decision. Sure, if are Jacksonville, your approach to the draft starts at pick #33 as you already know what you are doing first overall. But at 19? Is it time to go reaching for a Mac Jones who was surrounded with future NFL talent? Should you give up future cost controlled value players in order to get something "better" than what you have now?

Or might it be wiser to just stay the course? If it works out, you still have Smith for 2022 at a relatively cheap (for a veteran, starting quality caliber QB) salary cap number.(13) If it doesn't work out, the team will have hopefully spent the 2021 offseason focusing on filling the holes around the QB spot: WR, MLB, LT. When 2022 rolls around, either you roll with one of the young guys or more likely you are now in position to get a QB in the draft. The team is also in a better situation to absorb that rookie QB.

Going this path accepts a bunch of risk both from the fact that it is not sexy, it is highly dependent on the health of one man, and let's face it, that the fanbase is going to be somewhat disappointed when all of the other teams make moves for this guy or that one. However, it is the only path that we have been shown actually to work, provided Alex Smith is healthy. As much as I cannot believe it, the "Alex Smith just wins" argument is somewhat of a thing (11-5 with him as the starter, 5-26 without). Is it pretty? No. Do I enjoy watching it? Heck no. Would I shut up if they lifted a Lombardi? Hell yes.

 

OPTION 2: Go get 'em!
The exact opposite of option 1 is to acquire an upgrade at QB from another team. I cannot think of an offseason like 2021 where so many name QBs have some sort of availability. Matt Stafford and Jared Goff switch places? Carson Wentz sold for a "song plus"(14)? Rumors of not only guys like Derek Carr and Deshaun Watson, but also Russell Wilson?! @aceinthehouse argues for trading for Aaron Rodgers and I cannot really dismiss it out of hand, but have to justify why it wouldn't happen? This is insane.

So, who is available? Let's break up the options(15):

  • Highly unlikely to be available
    • Requires backing up the Brinks' truck to acquire
      • Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers
      • Seattle: Russell Wilson
    • Requires current team to eat insane amounts of dead cap
      • Atlanta: Matt Ryan (in 2021 only = $44.4M+)
    • Requires current team to find something new and shiny (i.e. won't be available until late free agency at the absolute earliest, more likely not until post draft or beyond)
      • New Orleans: Taysom Hill
      • NY Giants: Daniel Jones
      • Philadelphia: Jalen Hurts
    • Requires new team to pick up a bad contract
      • Detroit: Jared Goff
    • No chance Washington trades for him
      • Minnesota: Kirk Cousins
  • Might be available
    • Really only available as trade bait to acquire bigger name QB
      • Carolina: Teddy Bridgewater
      • Miami: Tua Tagovailoa
    • Is not really an upgrade from what they have
      • Denver: Drew Lock
      • Jacksonville: Gardner Minshew
  • Is on the market
    • Requires backing up the Brinks' truck to acquire
      • Houston: Deshaun Watson
    • Expensive
      • Las Vegas: Derek Carr
    • Reasonable
      • Las Vegas: Marcus Mariota
      • NY Jets: Sam Darnold
      • San Francisco: Jimmy Garoppolo

 

If you back up the Brinks' truck for any of the three(16) candidates mentioned, you gain a top shelf QB immediately but hollow out the team going forward. The funny thing is that Rodgers and Watson's contracts would be relatively cheap for two years(17) as most of the pain would stay with their existing teams. However, the problem is that you only have them for two years. In Rodgers' case, his contract would expire at age 40. Yes, he could perhaps play beyond that a la Brees and Brady, but is that a gamble worth taking? Wilson is younger as his contract expires during the year he turns 36, so figure you have one more spin of the wheel with him. However, beyond rumors he's unhappy, I am not sure that Seattle would actually consider it since the only other QBs on the roster are Danny Etling and Alex McGough. Who? Exactly. At least the Packers have a reasonably viableplan in Jordan Love.

This of course brings us to the neon sparkly prize of Deshaun Watson. You don't see QBs who are A) in their prime (he'll turn 26 in September), B) under a new contract, and C) top notch player becoming available. This just doesn't happen. Of course, a franchise that inexplicably kept Bill O'Brien employed for two years beyond when everyone else realized he was a chump is not what you call all that bright. As a result, the price is astronomical. Carolina was reportedly talking about three first round picks and Christian McCaffrey. I even saw their Fansided page suggest all that plus Shaq Thompson to get it done.

The other problem with Watson is the contract is much newer and thus much more expensive than Rodgers and Wilson's deals. 2021 would be dirt cheap at $10.54M cap charge, but it would then jump to $35M (fully guaranteed) in 2022, $37M ($20M salary, $17M roster bonus; both guarantee in March 2022) in 2023, and $32M each in 2024 and 2025 (all salary). Carolina has been making moves to clear cap space, so they look like serious players. If the announced deal is even in the ball park of possible, can Washington afford to play at that table?

However, the whole bright neon sparkly prize has a knock-on effect: Teams are trying to see what Houston will do with Deshaun Watson because that could set off a whole set of dominoes. If Watson were to go to the Jets(18), then Sam Darnold's value plummets through the floor. But neither the Jets nor any team that wants him really wants to make a move until they have a better sense of what it will cost. That in turn blocks Jimmy Garoppolo from being traded because it is unclear what the market for him is. Of course, if Watson goes somewhere else, the Jets could still tank Darnold's value by taking a QB at #2 overall. Or they could keep him, and thus he's off the table. Same thing with Garoppolo to be honest. It's entirely possible that neither gentleman will be available until both Watson moves and at least the first round of the draft is done.

Then there's Las Vegas. They have two QBs, both with some upside and with some warts. It isn't clear which one they want to deal or what the price of either would be. The good news for other teams is that the Raiders might be able to move independently of the Watson backlog because they have an in-house solution one way or the other. The bad news for other teams is it isn't clear that Las Vegas knows which one they want to keep and which one they want to trade. As such, you have a scenario where teams might end up inadvertently creating bidding wars between the two players. "Oh, you want Mariota for a 4th? Well I've got an offer for Carr where they're giving me a 2nd + 2022 2nd, but we'd rather have Mariota." Unfortunately for Las Vegas, they cannot play for time like San Francisco and the Jets can since if those teams solve their questions by keeping each player, the value plummets quickly for Las Vegas.

 


(1) Perhaps that should be closer to eight weeks. Didn't mean to go that long.
(2) It had absolutely nothing to do with stroking my own ego or showing off my lengthy descriptive writing style. No sir/ma'am. Not. At. All.
(3) Almost tipped away my hand early. Need to be careful.
(4) Though I have thoughts on that. Shocking, I know, right?
(5) I certainly wouldn't have predicted that they would head into the 2021-22 season still as the "Washington Football Team."
(6) You have to keep a Hurricane's attention focused on the shiny things. Look! A gaudy gold chain! Go get it!
(7) AKA "the debating position that Woz never would have thought he would be writing"
(8) I really would not have predicted that.
(9) I'm not going to re-argue whether that was a good or bad thing.
(10) As opposed to, you know, learning how to walk normally again.
(11) I do not believe Kyle Allen is worth keeping. I feel like that we have seen the best of Kyle Allen and that is basically your jetsam and flotsam of backup QB material that washes through the league every year. I'm not sure we have seen Taylor Heinicke's ceiling. No, I don't think it is all that much higher, but it might qualify for spot starter or bottom third of starting QB level. I only put Allen over Heinicke because he has more starts and they traded for Allen.
(12) Something that I argue that they have badly needed for years.
(13) Per Spotrac, Alex Smith would be the 12th most expensive QB in 2021 and 9th in 2022. However, that doesn't take into account Dak Prescott or Jameis Winston (currently unsigned) or guys like Ben Roethlisberger or Tom Brady getting another contract in 2022 or even Taysom Hill or Marcus Mariota exploding and needing to get paid in a year's time.
(14) Got to love to see the Eagles screwing themselves over and getting pennies on the dollar for Wentz.
(15) If they aren't listed here, they are either a complete non-starter as a trade option or they are not under contract (see section #3).
(16) Well, two since Russell Wilson has a no trade clause and I don't see us being a preferred destination at this juncture.
(17) $25M salary for both 2021 and 2022 for Rodgers (with $0.5M workout bonuses for both years) and $19M+$5M roster bonus in 2021 and $22M+$5M roster bonus in 2022.
(18) Seriously, what the **** is he thinking? He wants to go to arguably one of the only franchises that is more dysfunctional than both Houston and Washington? Someone protect him from himself. Please!
 

Edited by Woz
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Okay, I'm breaking this up into two parts because it was getting long already and I know the collective patience of the forum can be short (1)

Continuing on then, we have

 

OPTION 3: Go sign 'em!
What makes this offseason weirder is that there are fair number of QBs available in free agency, and not the normal detritus either.

  • QBs with 50+ starts, older than 30
    • Andy Dalton (34 years old, 142 starts, 62.2% career completion rate, 4.6% career TD rate, 2.6% career INT rate, 87.5 career QB rating)
    • Joe Flacco (36 years old, 175 starts, 61.7% career completion rate, 3.7% career TD rate, 2.4% career INT rate, 84.1 career QB rating)
    • Ryan Fitzpatrick (39 years old, 146 starts, 60.7% career completion rate, 4.4% career TD rate, 3.3% career INT rate, 82.3 career QB rating)
    • Cam Newton (32 years old, 139 starts, 60.1% career completion rate, 4.4% career TD rate, 2.7% career INT rate, 85.8 career QB rating)

I suspect that I could have cleaned up with bets with you all as to which of these four QBs had the best completion rate, TD rate, 2nd best INT rate and QB rating.

Of the four, Cam Newton is probably the biggest wow with Ryan Fitzpatrick as a clear "placeholder for next QB." Joe Flacco might be sliding into the Fitzpatrick role but I'm not sure he's mentally there yet. Andy Dalton, however, is the best of the four from a career stats standpoint. Yes, that could be very misleading, but give that all four of these guys have the equivalent of nearly 9 years of career starts (or more in Flacco's case), I think that is their actual trajectory.

Now, signing anyone other than Cam Newton might be something that sticks in the craw of the fanbase.

Okay, so are there are any free agent QBs with 50+ starts, but younger than 30? Yes, yes there are.

  • QBs with 50+ starts, 30 or younger
    • Blake Bortles (29 years old, 73 starts, 59.3% career completion rate, 3.9% career TD rate, 2.8% career INT rate, 80.6 career QB rating)
    • Dak Prescott (28 years old, 69 starts, 66.0% career completion rate, 4.6% career TD rate, 1.7% career INT rate, 97.3 career QB rating)
    • Mitchell Trubisky (27 years old, 50 starts, 64.0% career completion rate, 4.1% career TD rate, 2.3% career INT rate, 87.2 career QB rating)
    • Jameis Winston (27 years old, 70 starts, 61.4% career completion rate, 4.7% career TD rate, 3.4% career INT rate, 86.9 career QB rating)

One of these guys is not like the others.
One of these guys just doesn't belong.
Can you tell which guy is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?(2)

Lowest career completion rate, 2nd lowest career TD rate, and 3rd highest INT rate of any of the QBs mentioned yet? Blake Bortles, you are the weakest link. Goodbye.

Unfortunately, with the remaining three, this list is somewhat misleading. Yes, technically all three are free agents this year, but the open question is whether any of them are actually going to hit the market. You have to figure that the Cowboys will franchise Prescott again, even if does take nearly $37M to do so. Likewise, with Drew Brees retired in all but name, you have to think the Saints will try really hard to keep Jameis Winston in black and gold if they can. Even Mitchell Trubisky might end up back in Chicago after he played solidly at the end of the 2020 season.

So, it's entirely possible that none of these three guys will be available.

It's also possible all three are available if Prescott decides to make a massive stink about his contract in Dallas, Winston decides that he wants to test the market, and if Chicago decides to let Trubisky actually walk(3).

And this is where the other side of the dominoes lies: if all three of these guys are not available, the trade market will shift to the current teams and the prices will go up. On the other hand, if they actually hit free agency, the trade market might become more friendly to the buyers. Note the usage of the word "might" in that last sentence. If a team like say New England spends big bucks on Dak Prescott helping to reset the contract market(4), trading for a more reasonable contract for Mariota or Darnold might not seem so bad.

However, the advantage of these three is that you conceivably could have them for two (maybe 3?) more contracts depending on the length. If you believe in them, they could settle the position for Washington for 8-10 years barring injury.

Still, Washington could decide to bargain bin shop a little for a veteran, giving Allen and Heinicke the early lead as the starter in 2021. Options there are:

  • 16+ starts
    • Jacoby Brissett (29 y.o, 32 starts, 59.6% career completion rate, 3.2% career TD rate, 1.3% career INT rate, 84.1 career passer rating)
    • Blaine Gabbert (32 y.o., 48 starts, 56.2% career completion rate, 3.3% career TD rate, 3.1% career INT rate, 72.3 career passer rating)
    • Mike Glennon (32 y.o., 27 starts, 61.1% career completion rate, 4.4% career TD rate, 2.6% career INT rate, 83.5 career passer rating)
    • Robert Griffin III (31 y.o., 42 starts, 63.0% career completion rate, 3.4% career TD rate, 2.4% career INT rate, 86.5 career passer rating)
    • Brian Hoyer (36 y.o., 39 starts, 59.2% career completion rate, 3.5% career TD rate, 2.3% career INT rate, 82.1 career passer rating)
    • Colt McCoy (35 y.o, 30 starts, 60.7% career completion rate, 3.0% career TD rate, 2.8% career INT rate, 78.1 career passer rating)
    • Geno Smith (31 y.o, 31 starts, 57.8% career completion rate, 3.2% career TD rate, 4.0% career INT rate, 72.9 career passer rating)
    • Tyrod Taylor (32 y.o., 47 starts, 61.4% career completion rate, 3.9% career TD rate, 1.4% career INT rate, 89.5 career passer rating)

So for all of you who have been poo pooing the idea of signing Tyrod Taylor as a bridge QB/spot starter, keep in mind that he's arguably the best out of this group, with only Robert Griffin III as the other possibility ...

Right. Moving on.

Taylor arguably also stacks up somewhat favorably when compared to Ryan Fitzpatrick as the bridge guy: better completion rate and lower INT rate. Fitzpatrick is more aggressive, though, as shown by both his higher TD% and INT%. I am not sure Rivera and Turner would want a more aggressive QB given the system they are running though.

 

OPTION 4: Draft 'em!
This one has four parts:

  1. Trade up for "their guy" leading to ->
    1. Which guy?
    2. How high? and
    3. What does it cost?
  2. Stay put in the first round, but if a QB falls to 19, draft them.
  3. Stay put in the first round, but aggressively look to address it in the 2nd or 3rd round.
  4. Stay put and only worry about the QB late or as a UDFA.

Because this is Football's Future, #1 has been debated a lot. The general consensus is that that Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and Justin Fields will all go in the top 6(5). Trey Lance is the big question mark, but I think a safe bet would be he's gone before Washington picks if they don't move up(6). There's a lot of QB needy teams out there right now, but the cost is up in the air because A) there's a lot of QBs in flux right now as mentioned above, and B) during the draft prices get weird as teams try to make deals within 15 minutes. Lance has the widest range of draft spots because he's coming from a non-Division IA school. Yes, @Thaiphoon, NDSU is no slouch of a IAA school. Just saying that teams still might have concerns, especially since the Eagles just dealt the last big name QB from there for a 3rd round pick. Yes, I realize that it isn't an apples to apples comparison.

There's also the possibility of Washington having to move up to 14 (Minnesota) because New England is desperate at 15 for Mac Jones. Now, a lot of people have projected them to reacquire Garoppolo, but if the 49ers lose out on Lance, they could easily stand pat with Jimmy G. That in turn would leave New England perhaps in a bind.

I haven't gotten the sense that the board, FF, or even the league as a whole has a solid value understanding of Jones. Is he the product of playing with a ton of NFL talent around him? Or is he actually good in his own right? While some might not be willing to trade up for him, they might be okay with drafting him at 19. Beyond Lance or Jones, however, I don't feel like anyone would take a QB at 19(7).

Once we get outside of the 1st round, though, the likelihood that QBs will actually amount to anything drops off significantly. As @e16bball has argued in the past, it is very uncommon for a QB that the entire league passed on at least once to amount to anything. Yes, of late, there have been notable exceptions (Drew Brees, Dalton, and Colin Kaepernick are the readily named 2nd round QBs, with Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott and Tom Brady as the later options). However, you'll notice that there are way more QBs taken in rounds 2-7 that disappear into the nothingness.

Of course, part of that is due to teams not feeling all that invested in the later QB. They either need a weak QB depth chart ahead of them (Wilson, Dalton), injuries to ones above them (Prescott, Brady, Kaepernick), or luck (Brees with Rivers holding out his first year). To be fair, that's a possible situation in Washington right now with no obvious starter. So, maybe Washington could roll the dice with a Trask or a Mond in the mid rounds and hit the exacta. The odds are against it though.

Option 4.4 could be due to Washington choosing Option 1 or having dealt with the QB situation via Options 2 or 3. Or maybe they rolled with Allen and Heinicke and thought they would bring in someone to compete with Montez, going uber cheap and minimal experience as a roll of the dice. Who knows?

 

 

(1) It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I accidentally posted what I had early. None whatsoever.
(2) It is still a great jam. That one goes out to you, @Thaiphoon.
(3) They did pass on his fifth year option., after all.
(4) I would be absolutely stunned if New England was the one that set the market. They were just the first team I thought of that didn't really have an in house plan that could arguably thought of as a premier destination.
(5) I would argue top 5, but that's going to require a trade by Carolina or Denver. I think Detroit would like to take one of these QBs but I don't think they'll trade up for the privilege.
(6) San Francisco at 12 is probably his floor, which puts some pressure on Washington if they want him to move up to #9 because neither Dallas nor the Giants are likely to help the Burgundy & Gold get their potential franchise QB.
(7) Okay, sure, if Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, or Justin Fields fell to them at 19, they would be all of that. That's not happening though barring a "Tunsil smoking mask" video.

Edited by Woz
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4 hours ago, MKnight82 said:

Needed more footnotes tbh.  

I'll try harder next time.

4 hours ago, RSkinGM said:

I just thought it need to be more in-depth 😅

Will keep trying to get better.

3 hours ago, lavar703 said:

In conclusion, we’re signing Cam Newton. 

If you had to ask me, I would say 30% chance. I think the "let it ride" option or sign Taylor as the "vet" are perhaps a bit more likely.

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9 minutes ago, Woz said:

I'll try harder next time.

Will keep trying to get better.

If you had to ask me, I would say 30% chance. I think the "let it ride" option or sign Taylor as the "vet" are perhaps a bit more likely.

I’d like to believe that Woz but I’m pretty sure Cam and Curtis Samuel will be on this team next year. Rivera loves going after people and players he’s comfortable with. 

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2 minutes ago, lavar703 said:

I’d like to believe that Woz but I’m pretty sure Cam and Curtis Samuel will be on this team next year. Rivera loves going after people and players he’s comfortable with. 

While I can completely agree with you on Samuel (*sigh* think that's looking to small, but eh, what can you do), I wonder how much "comfort" Rivera might have with Cam. He's seen him up close and personal. Does he want to deal with that again?

If he goes with Newton, then he basically has to erase any potential development for Allen and Heinicke because Newton will command all of the attention. Only way the other two get any meaningful reps in the offseason is due to an injury in the offseason. That's when the important reps are. Yes, they could easily get snaps midseason due to Newton injury, but those will be focused on developing the game plan, not creating a solid foundation.

The other side of that equation: does Newton like Scott Turner? Does he want to come back to an offense run by Turner? I honestly don't know the answer to that question, but it isn't solely a one way street.

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A) My brain hurts reading this (i)

B) It's FCS not 1-AA (ii)

C) See my footnotes (iii)

 

(i) j/k. Good writeup. When I have time, I'll go back through it again and absorb the knowledge you're breaking down

(ii) if it's FBS, then it's FCS. Since we actually have a real championship that is recognized by the NCAA

(iii) just breaking your marbles. Seriously, thank you for this post! Like I said, I'll go more into this post later this week when I have time.

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Trade up, draft Fields. Re-sign Kyle Allen to compete w/ Fields and Heinicke to be the starter this year. It’s probably best for Fields - same with Wilson or Lance - to sit for a year but I can’t dismiss out of hand that Fields wouldn’t show enough in the offseason to beat both Allen & Heinicke out to be our week 1 starter or at worst eventually be our starter during the season.

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1 hour ago, turtle28 said:

Trade up, draft Fields. Re-sign Kyle Allen to compete w/ Fields and Heinicke to be the starter this year. It’s probably best for Fields - same with Wilson or Lance - to sit for a year but I can’t dismiss out of hand that Fields wouldn’t show enough in the offseason to beat both Allen & Heinicke out to be our week 1 starter or at worst eventually be our starter during the season.

What will the compensation be to make that move and at what pick are you trading up. 

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TL:DR...(not really, but kinda)

Fitzmagic as a FA (unless Dak is allowed to test FA) followed by Tyrod Taylor
Matt Ryan is my preferred trade target (although highly unlikely)

I envision Taylor and Kyle battling it out for the #1 in camp and a 5th round rookie holding jockstraps.

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On 2/22/2021 at 12:29 AM, Woz said:

OPTION 1: "Let's do that again!" (7)

Option 1 is now kinda, sorta gone, but also still there. The Alex Smith part of the equation is out, but we still can roll with Allen/Heinicke. 

On 2/22/2021 at 12:29 AM, Woz said:

OPTION 2: Go get 'em!
The exact opposite of option 1 is to acquire an upgrade at QB from another team. I cannot think of an offseason like 2021 where so many name QBs have some sort of availability. Matt Stafford and Jared Goff switch places? Carson Wentz sold for a "song plus"(14)? Rumors of not only guys like Derek Carr and Deshaun Watson, but also Russell Wilson?! @aceinthehouse argues for trading for Aaron Rodgers and I cannot really dismiss it out of hand, but have to justify why it wouldn't happen? This is insane.

So, who is available? Let's break up the options(15):

  • Highly unlikely to be available
    • Requires backing up the Brinks' truck to acquire
      • Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers (GB said he's staying)
      • Seattle: Russell Wilson (didn't list our team as an option)
    • Requires current team to eat insane amounts of dead cap
      • Atlanta: Matt Ryan (in 2021 only = $44.4M+) (maybe this changes with how the draft goes) 
    • Requires current team to find something new and shiny (i.e. won't be available until late free agency at the absolute earliest, more likely not until post draft or beyond)
      • New Orleans: Taysom Hill (he'll be a Saint in 2021 I think)
      • NY Giants: Daniel Jones (he gets this year in NY)
      • Philadelphia: Jalen Hurts (sounds like he's the man now in Philly)
    • Requires new team to pick up a bad contract
      • Detroit: Jared Goff (possible)
    • No chance Washington trades for him
      • Minnesota: Kirk Cousins (like you said, no chance)
  • Might be available
    • Really only available as trade bait to acquire bigger name QB
      • Carolina: Teddy Bridgewater (can be had cheap I bet)
      • Miami: Tua Tagovailoa (the piece for Watson)
    • Is not really an upgrade from what they have
      • Denver: Drew Lock (agreed)
      • Jacksonville: Gardner Minshew (agreed)
  • Is on the market
    • Requires backing up the Brinks' truck to acquire
      • Houston: Deshaun Watson (we're way down on the list)
    • Expensive
      • Las Vegas: Derek Carr (not moving on without an alternative) 
    • Reasonable
      • Las Vegas: Marcus Mariota (we're trying, so I will count it)
      • NY Jets: Sam Darnold (an option)
      • San Francisco: Jimmy Garoppolo (meh, probably not)

So from option 2, I think realistically we can say we could do Mariota, Darnold, Bridgewater, Goff. 

 

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