Quarterback Carousel - Who's Left And Potential Landing Spots
As free agency continues to unwind, Cam Newton, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton were all NFL starters in 2019 who are hunting for a new home this offseason. With at least three quarterbacks projected to go in the first round of the draft and plenty of talent in the class below them, demand for a quarterback is dwindling quickly. Although 26 of the 32 teams have at least ten million dollars in free cap space, there is only a handful of teams still actively looking for a quarterback and this could spell trouble for at least a couple of these four.
The Bengals are one of the teams on the market for a quarterback as they have yet to ink a deal with Dalton who started for the team last year. However, they also hold the number one pick in the draft and they are almost surely going to take Joe Burrow with said pick. Dalton is still "under contract" with the team although he has no guaranteed money remaining. The good news for this group of quarterbacks on the market, mainly Dalton, is that Cincinnati will most likely move to add a veteran quarterback to serve as a bridge and help work Burrow into NFL action.
Tampa Bay made a splash when they brought in Brady to man the offense, but they still need a good backup with Brady being 42 years old in the case that the veteran goes down with an injury. Dalton could be a good fit for this role as could both Winston and Flacco. Dalton and Flacco provide a veteran presence which could come in quite handy if Brady were to become injured as they would be ready to step in and contribute without having to really limit the playbook. However, Dalton still wants to be a starter in the league and Flacco probably will never be offered a starting job due to age and injury issues.
Winston, for obvious reasons, already knows the team's system and, if he's willing to take a pay cut, serving behind a veteran like Brady could help him work out some of those interceptions and help mold him into a star quarterback. Another plus of having him as a backup would be the verticality in his arm as he ranked second in the NFL last season in average depth of his target, only 0.2 yards per attempt behind first.
The Chargers, although they should be on the market, have made it clear that Tyrod Taylor will be their guy moving forward, but it would make tons of sense if they were to add one of these guys as an emergency option. The Dolphins seem to be perennially on the market for a quarterback, but they also hold three first-round picks in the draft including the fifth pick and all signs appear to them looking to the draft for their quarterback of the future (most likely either Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert). The Jaguars, Steelers and Saints all have their starters virtually set in stone, but all three are still in need of a solid backup quarterback as well and both the Steelers and Saints will need a future franchise quarterback sometime in the near future with Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees both getting upwards in age.
The Patriots are the most obvious team in the league that are currently hunting for a starting quarterback, but the odds are definitely stacked against them in terms of money and draft position. They only have a little over 4.5 million free in cap space and their highest draft pick is 23rd in the first round. They signed journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer, and unless they make a move in free agency, he's set to battle for a starting job with 2019 4th round pick Jarrett Stidham who is the favorite to be the opening day starter. I could see Dalton being a perfect fit and Flacco being another option. New England could be a great fit for either Newton or Winston as well who both appear to have the tools to be a great NFL starter with a little work, and Bill Belichick could certainly be the man who could use them to their full potential.
