Open Rants by RTORRES27

Every year several franchises have doubts about their starting QB for the upcoming season, but it feels different this year. The 2020 QB class has been hyped for some time, future Hall of Famer QBs are available and a lot of boom or bust prospects like Winston are intriguing stories to follow. I will try to predict every relevant NFL QB destination and it is important to mention that it could be a committee like Eli Manning and Daniel Jones last year.

The locks –

This group consists on QBs that have long term contracts established and have been performing well enough to have untouchable status.

Russel Wilson – Seahawks

Aaron Rodgers – Packers

Carson Wentz – Eagles

Matt Ryan – Falcons

Jimmy Garoppolo – 49ers

Ben Roethlisberger - Steelers

Rookie contract –

This group consist on starting QBs that are new on the league and are considered  safe starters on their team.

Kyler Murray – Cardinals

Baker Mayfield – Browns

Sam Darnold – Jets

Daniel Jones – Giants

Josh Allen – Bills

Patrick Mahomes – Chiefs ( he is only making $2,7 million in 2020, pay the man Chiefs)

Dwayne Haskins – Redskins

Deshaun Watson – Texans

Lamar Jackson – Ravens

Drew Lock – Denver

Saved by expensive contacts –

These are players that could be replaced but the chances are very low, because of heavy trade/dead cap that it would cost.

Jared Goff – Rams

Kirk Cousins – Vikings

Matt Stafford – Lions

Alex Smith – Redskins ($21,4 cap hit, 2020 salary fully guaranteed for injury, good job Skins)

Nick Foles - Jaguars

Job in Danger –

Players that are under contract and have a real chance of losing their job and/or leaving

Derek Carr – Raiders

Joe Flacco – Broncos

Cam Newton – Panthers  

Andy Dalton – Bengals

Jacoby Brissett – Colts 

Mitchell Trubisky - Bears   

Notable Free Agents –

Drew Brees

Tom Brady

Dak Prescott

Phillip Rivers

Teddy Bridgewater 

Jameis Winston

Marcus Mariota

Ryan Tannehill

Notables from 2020 Draft Class –

Joe Burrow – LSU

Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama

Justin Herbert – Oregon 

Jordan Love – Utah State

Jacob Eason – Washington

Jake Fromm – Georgia

To sum up this big list, here are the teams that could be looking for a QB change:

Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Las Vegas Raiders
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
- 12 teams in total

       A) I will start will QB destinations that are considered most safe around the media:

Drew Brees/Jake Fromm – New Orleans Saints

Brees is a future HOF and the best QB on this franchise history, Saints have suffered 3 heartbreaking playoff losses in a row and Brees is likely coming back to make a run for his second Super Bowl ring before he retires. Brees is 41 years old and a future QB is needed, Taysom Hill isn’t exactly a god option, so it would be smart to bring Fromm as a Day 2 pick to develop on a smart franchise where his strengths could be maximized.

Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys

Prescott have been playing as a franchise QB, despite several criticism by fans and media. His presence didn’t make Romo much missed in Dallas and there is a high chance Jerry Jones pays him what he deserves. Dallas also has $73,9 million in cap space, which makes the deal even more inevitable.

Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals hold the no.1 overall pick and Burrow has consolidated himself as the top QB of the class, after a record breaking season at the most competitive conference in College Football.

Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins

Everyone knows Miami loves Tagovailoa and the only chance that he doesn’t go there is if someone manages to do a massive trade to pick Tua before Miami. Even so, Miami has the most Draft capital on the NFL, so the most likely outcome is that they make a trade to secure the Crimson Tide star QB.

       B) Now I will go for moves that aren’t that safe but are hot according to sources:

Tom Brady – New England Patriots

The GOAT has been clear regarding his desire to continue active for the next season and is a free agent for the first time on his long career. Brady still has enough left on the tank to help a competitive team hunt for a title and there isn’t a better place to do so than at New England,  where there is a winning mentality, a future HOF head coach and a great defense.

Phillip Rivers/Jacob Eason – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The reliable and underrated QB is linked to a move to Florida and the only possible destination would be Tampa Bay. Rivers isn’t exactly the big play QB that Bruce Arians likes, but would bring a lot of experience and could maximize the talents of Evans, Goodwin and Howard. I like the move and with $84,9 million in cap space (3^rd most), they could do damage on free agency and become playoff contenders. Rivers, 38, has shown signs of regression and the Buccaneers could also take a mid-round QB to develop, Eason fits Bruce Arians QB prototype and could start on the future for them.

Mitchell Trubisky/Marcus Mariota - Bears   

Trubisky is on a unique category, bad QB that is liked by his staff. Everyone knows that Bears aren’t contenders with Trubisky as their starting QB, but his job seem safe. The only probable move there is a veteran backup in order to carry the team if Trubisky plays so badly that the staff is forced to take him out. Andy Dalton and Marcus Mariota are strong candidates for the job. I’ll go with Mariota as the younger option with lower floor but higher ceiling that could maybe revamp his career at Chicago.

Ryan Tannehill/Andy Dalton - Titans

Tannehill has been a true Comeback player and has almost led the Titans to the Super Bowl, the only franchise where he would be the starter is Tennessee so a low term with low risk for the Titans is a possible outcome. Dalton would be a safe backup plan for the franchise, if Tannehill suddenly regresses , they have enough cap space ($48 million) to bring an expensive veteran QB.

Joe Flacco – Broncos

I don’t see much market for Flacco, so he could restructure his contract to free up some cap space and remain at Denver as a capable backup.

       C) The last 4 teams (Panthers, Colts, Chargers, Raiders) are more difficult to predict and this part is less likely of happening:

Derek Carr/ Jameis Winston – Raiders

Gruden would love to replace Carr to get his QB and the Raiders have been linked to some of the high profile QB free agents. On this prediction, they don’t any sign of them, leading to the obvious decision that would be to keep Carr as the starter. He has improved last year and could lead the franchise to a playoff berth. I don’t see Mike Mayock letting them waste Draft capital to trade for a QB on the Draft either. I still see Gruden surprising everyone, so that is why they are on ‘’category C’’. As for the Jameis Winston part, Raiders would be a likely destination to Winston in order to bring some extra attention to Las Vegas and to be a viable starter if Carr’s relationship with Gruden gets to a critical point during the season.

Jacoby Brissett/ Jordan Love – Colts

I could see them going for Bridgewater, but Chris Ballard is a conservative GM and I think that he would rather keep Brissett as his bridge QB that already knows the system. Colts could get Love with their first round pick or by trading back to late of the first round. Love has a high ceiling and could turn into a franchise QB after some developing time at Indianapolis, unfortunately, he isn’t ready to be an NFL starter.

Cam Newton – Chargers and Teddy Bridgewater/ Justin Herbert - Panthers

Credits to the Draft Dudes podcast where this destination was mentioned, I found it very intriguing. Panthers have an entirely new staff that could want to entirely rebuild the franchise that has lost their most recent key faces (Kuechly, Olsen). Moving from Newton would mark the end of a cycle and would be easy , as Panthers would carry only $2 million of dead cap if he is released or traded before June 1^st. The replacement would be Justin Herbert using their high first round pick, as on this scenario the Chargers would pass on him. The young QB has a bright future but could use a year of learning before being the starter. Teddy Bridgewater would be signed to be a short term starter and to have a chance to prove that he is a starter caliber QB.

As for the Chargers, they need to find a way to bring excitement to a franchise that has been struggling to bring fans in LA and will soon move to a massive stadium. Cam Newton has the highest ceiling of any QB available on the market, as he showed when he led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50. He would be a home run signing, with his dynamic style and good enough arm strength the good weapons that are there (Austin Ekeler, Mike Williams, Keenan Allen) could be used properly. To make this project viable, Chargers would be obligated to massively improve their OL, Newton has already been pretty damaged by bad OL before, so Andrew Thomas or Jedrick Willis would be a key pick at the 2020 Draft first round. This explains why they would need to pass on Justin Herbert.