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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...all-says-about-sam-bradford-and-six-other-qbs
There's never been a better time to be a quarterback.
Unproven quarterbacks, middling quarterbacks and, heck, even projected future middling quarterbacks have been the story of this NFL offseason. From the combine to free agency and through the draft.
They have gotten paid like never before. The $18 million to $20 million stratosphere became a lot more crowded. It seemed hardly a week went by in which some quarterbacks -- generally one with a spotty resume at best -- was commanding the league's attention.
Guys like Sam Bradford, Kirk Cousins and Brock Osweiler got huge bucks. Ryan Fitzpatrickkeeps waiting for a bigger contract offer that likely will never come. Colin Kaepernickremains shackled to the 49ers. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz ended up as the top two picks via trades no less. And in the third round, previous afterthoughts in Jacoby Brissett and Cody Kessler have drawn headlines for their high-profile benefactors -- Bill Parcells and Hue Jackson, respectively.
It's their world. We're just livin' in it.
But, alas, the calendar is changing and grown men are congregating back to practice facilities and football fields around the country. It won't be too long before this quarterback class of 2016 -- veterans and rookies alike -- have to actually show what they can do. And that, my friends, is where things can and will likely get dicey.
What we don't really know about of these dudes is if they can perform as legitimate starters. Even in the case of many of these guys on their second contracts, we really don't know if they can command a team and be true leaders and make plays on a big stage and lift others around them.
We still have more questions than answers and for all of the money that has been spent on them -- all the draft picks surrendered to acquire them, all of the hours of evaluation, scrutiny and background work done -- the greater reality is that these passers are largely unknown commodities. Or, in the case of some, they just are exactly what everyone thinks they are, and what they have been. But desperation can make you see things in them that have never been there. (Yeah, Eagles and Bradford, I'm talking to you).
Show-me time is approaching, with OTAs the first hurdle. Training camp and the pressure of the daily horserace for playing time is now only a few months off.
So it seems like the perfect time for me to peer into my crystal ball and give you a peek into what I see in the future for this collection of quarterbacks. Alas, it's not all touchdowns and celebrations and dollar signs.
Sam Bradford
Aw, poor Sam. My thoughts and prayers remain with him and agent Tom Condon during their time of introspection in the face of the indignities perpetrated by the Eagles, which inspired the lamest trade demand in the modern era of professional sports.
I only hope these guys found a yogi, a higher-being -- maybe the Dali Lama had some free time? -- to help guide them through the abyss they faced for these past few weeks and the horror they had to live through watching the Eagles draft Carson Wentz second overall. I bet the climate control in his mansion was a few degrees off and the finger sandwiches weren't cut properly either that night.
Tough gig, man. But let me let you in on a little secret -- this holdout/trade demand/temper tantrum has had the durability of an average Bradford season. He's got nowhere to go, nobody else wants him (which is why he signed a bloated Band-aid contract in the first place, and only so many shoulders to cry on besides Condon's).
He'll be back to work soon enough, probably even Monday, and he'll try to say all the right things. The problem is he's still a guy with like a .300 winning percentage.
My crystal ball says: Forget Wentz. Bradford loses his job to Chase Daniel -- the new coach's handpicked backup, by Thanksgiving. If that's the case, again, godspeed out there on the open market next year.
Bradford's run in Philadelphia likely won't last beyond this season. (USATSI)
Ryan Fitzpatrick
If anyone should be paying attention to the Bradford situation, it's Fitzpatrick, who has already worn out his welcome in many of the places you could make the case still could possibly use a quarterback. He's drawn zero interest from the others.
I checked in on this situation and literally nothing has changed between Fitzpatrick and the Jets. Status quo. Stalemate.
And now, with the market even less robust after being flooded by all the cheap rookie arms that were just drafted, well, it's time for Fitzpatrick to take what the Jets have on the table.
The issue remains to be the second and third years of the deal, where the Jets are hesitant to guarantee much. And, frankly, they hold all the cards and always have.
Fitzpatrick's friends around the league aren't buying the fact that he might retire. They know he loves playing for offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, and it's beyond time he tells agent Jimmy Sexton to work out the best one-year they can and sign.
Get $10 million for one year and gamble on yourself. It's the perfect team and the perfect system and you had too much fun last year to walk away now.
My crystal ball says: Fitzpatrick will be with Gang Green before too long, even if it's not for as much green as he would like.
Expect Fitzpatrick to eventually return to the Jets. (USATSI)
Colin Kaepernick
This guy is stuck. Things have gotten too bad between him and the 49ers to be the starter there, and Chip Kelly's fascination is with Blaine Gabbert and not Kaepernick for now.
I doubt that really changes.
Kaepernick is getting healthy enough to the point where he would merit some reps, but if the upper management of the team really wants him gone (they have and still do), and he has no real future there (he doesn't), then how many reps would you really swing his way at the expense of the real grand experiment going on there, Gabbert? They'd like to rehabilitate Gabbert into an NFL quarterback.
Trading QBs is tricky, as they generally need significant time to learn a system and integrate themselves into the scheme before being ready to play. But I still don't rule out someone grabbing this kid if they lose a starter during OTAs or early in the preseason.
My crystal ball says: Kaepernick will keep a very low profile, saying all the right things when he does actually have to talk, keeping to himself and saying his prayers that he gets a chance to get the heck out of Santa Clara. And I see that happening, just not for a few more months. I don't see is him getting any meaningful time with the 49ers unless Gabbert gets hurt.
Don't count on seeing Kaepernick take a lot of meaningful snaps this season. (USATSI)
Paxton Lynch
This is John Elway's guy. Mark Sanchez was always just a guy, as there had to be some nominal veteran atop the depth chart. He was always just a place-holder as Elway chased Kaepernick and others, but there was never a real commitment to that concept of 2016 being about Sanchez. It won't take much for Lynch to leap ahead of Sanchez. Gary Kubiak knows how to baby a quarterback and in the meantime, play into Lynch's athleticism and what he does best. Coming off a Super Bowl and with this defense, I have a hard time seeing Elway stomaching losing games with a limited Sanchez at the helm -- throwing interceptions all over the place.
The Broncos might as well get those learning pains out of the way for Lynch, who could operate in the functional way Osweiler did. If not by Week 1, then certainly in plenty of time for the postseason.
My crystal ball says: It's Lynch in the opening game.
Lynch could very well end up being the Week 1 starter in Denver. (USATSI)
Cody Kessler
The Browns will get a chance to back up their words about this quarterback project. With the team they have assembled -- or the overall lack thereof -- Kessler will play this season at some point. Possibly sooner rather than later.
With Robert Griffin III at quarterback, injury is almost inevitable, especially given the state of this offensive line. By the middle of the season Josh McCown will be starting games for this team -- assuming he is still there.
Truth is, if executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown and coach Hue Jackson feel half as strongly about Kessler's ability to prove the entire rest of the league wrong and perform better than the 7th-round grade or UDFA-grade several teams had on him, then no sense carrying two veteran QBs on a team that will compete for the first-overall pick again in 2017.
So, yeah, I'm saying we'll get to see what Kessler can do in 2016, which on its face sounds shocking given how far most believe he is from being an NFL quarterback. And if he is thrust into the fire with this cast around him, you have to wonder if he's worse off for it down the line.
My crystal ball says: He will be starting at least four games. Gulp.
Expect Kessler to see the field and maybe get a handful of starts. (USATSI)
Brock Osweiler
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. The Texans play a pretty big-boy schedule this year -- tends to happen the year after you win the division -- and expectations are high.
This can't be a situation like a year ago with the coach having the quickest QB hook in the history of the NFL. This is Brock's team. He's the guy (even if the head coach sounded ambivalent at best about that prospect in the intro press conference and never even met the kid before the owner had stuffed $40 million into the QB's pocket).
So, yeah, fair to say I am less than convinced this is the answer to the Texans' lingering QB problem. Coach Bill O'Brien will have to stick with him, but after drafting more weapons on offense there won't be any excuses here. While Houston's defense made strides in the second half of last season, this isn't the 2015 Broncos defense.
Playing in the AFC South would generally make things much easier for Osweiler, only that division might actually be halfway decent this year, too.
My crystal ball says: There will be some tears and disappointment here. And I have a hunch that this ends up being only a two-year, $38 million deal that leaves a fair amount of carnage in its wake.
Expect Osweiler's ride in Houston to be a bumpy one. (USATSI)
Kirk Cousins
This can't be all doom and gloom.
I shook the crystal ball a few more times, getting confused for a few minutes and thinking it was a Magic 8 Ball.
I searched for positive signs and a beacon of hope. And it told me that Cousins would perform about the same as he did a year ago.
My crystal ball says: He'll toss a few more touchdowns. He will also be asked to do even more within that offense, thrive under pressure and put Dan Snyder in a position where he had to give the kid a massive new deal.
He has a bunch of weapons around him and the Redskins will find a way to run the football. The stress of the situation won't rattle Cousins. He might not end up in the Pro Bowl, but he'll further entrench himself as the fulcrum of this offense and one of the faces of the franchise as GM Scot McCloughan continues to build a bully that can contend in the pedestrian NFC East for years to come.
There's never been a better time to be a quarterback.
Unproven quarterbacks, middling quarterbacks and, heck, even projected future middling quarterbacks have been the story of this NFL offseason. From the combine to free agency and through the draft.
They have gotten paid like never before. The $18 million to $20 million stratosphere became a lot more crowded. It seemed hardly a week went by in which some quarterbacks -- generally one with a spotty resume at best -- was commanding the league's attention.
Guys like Sam Bradford, Kirk Cousins and Brock Osweiler got huge bucks. Ryan Fitzpatrickkeeps waiting for a bigger contract offer that likely will never come. Colin Kaepernickremains shackled to the 49ers. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz ended up as the top two picks via trades no less. And in the third round, previous afterthoughts in Jacoby Brissett and Cody Kessler have drawn headlines for their high-profile benefactors -- Bill Parcells and Hue Jackson, respectively.
It's their world. We're just livin' in it.
But, alas, the calendar is changing and grown men are congregating back to practice facilities and football fields around the country. It won't be too long before this quarterback class of 2016 -- veterans and rookies alike -- have to actually show what they can do. And that, my friends, is where things can and will likely get dicey.
What we don't really know about of these dudes is if they can perform as legitimate starters. Even in the case of many of these guys on their second contracts, we really don't know if they can command a team and be true leaders and make plays on a big stage and lift others around them.
We still have more questions than answers and for all of the money that has been spent on them -- all the draft picks surrendered to acquire them, all of the hours of evaluation, scrutiny and background work done -- the greater reality is that these passers are largely unknown commodities. Or, in the case of some, they just are exactly what everyone thinks they are, and what they have been. But desperation can make you see things in them that have never been there. (Yeah, Eagles and Bradford, I'm talking to you).
Show-me time is approaching, with OTAs the first hurdle. Training camp and the pressure of the daily horserace for playing time is now only a few months off.
So it seems like the perfect time for me to peer into my crystal ball and give you a peek into what I see in the future for this collection of quarterbacks. Alas, it's not all touchdowns and celebrations and dollar signs.
Sam Bradford
Aw, poor Sam. My thoughts and prayers remain with him and agent Tom Condon during their time of introspection in the face of the indignities perpetrated by the Eagles, which inspired the lamest trade demand in the modern era of professional sports.
I only hope these guys found a yogi, a higher-being -- maybe the Dali Lama had some free time? -- to help guide them through the abyss they faced for these past few weeks and the horror they had to live through watching the Eagles draft Carson Wentz second overall. I bet the climate control in his mansion was a few degrees off and the finger sandwiches weren't cut properly either that night.
Tough gig, man. But let me let you in on a little secret -- this holdout/trade demand/temper tantrum has had the durability of an average Bradford season. He's got nowhere to go, nobody else wants him (which is why he signed a bloated Band-aid contract in the first place, and only so many shoulders to cry on besides Condon's).
He'll be back to work soon enough, probably even Monday, and he'll try to say all the right things. The problem is he's still a guy with like a .300 winning percentage.
My crystal ball says: Forget Wentz. Bradford loses his job to Chase Daniel -- the new coach's handpicked backup, by Thanksgiving. If that's the case, again, godspeed out there on the open market next year.
Bradford's run in Philadelphia likely won't last beyond this season. (USATSI)
Ryan Fitzpatrick
If anyone should be paying attention to the Bradford situation, it's Fitzpatrick, who has already worn out his welcome in many of the places you could make the case still could possibly use a quarterback. He's drawn zero interest from the others.
I checked in on this situation and literally nothing has changed between Fitzpatrick and the Jets. Status quo. Stalemate.
And now, with the market even less robust after being flooded by all the cheap rookie arms that were just drafted, well, it's time for Fitzpatrick to take what the Jets have on the table.
The issue remains to be the second and third years of the deal, where the Jets are hesitant to guarantee much. And, frankly, they hold all the cards and always have.
Fitzpatrick's friends around the league aren't buying the fact that he might retire. They know he loves playing for offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, and it's beyond time he tells agent Jimmy Sexton to work out the best one-year they can and sign.
Get $10 million for one year and gamble on yourself. It's the perfect team and the perfect system and you had too much fun last year to walk away now.
My crystal ball says: Fitzpatrick will be with Gang Green before too long, even if it's not for as much green as he would like.
Expect Fitzpatrick to eventually return to the Jets. (USATSI)
Colin Kaepernick
This guy is stuck. Things have gotten too bad between him and the 49ers to be the starter there, and Chip Kelly's fascination is with Blaine Gabbert and not Kaepernick for now.
I doubt that really changes.
Kaepernick is getting healthy enough to the point where he would merit some reps, but if the upper management of the team really wants him gone (they have and still do), and he has no real future there (he doesn't), then how many reps would you really swing his way at the expense of the real grand experiment going on there, Gabbert? They'd like to rehabilitate Gabbert into an NFL quarterback.
Trading QBs is tricky, as they generally need significant time to learn a system and integrate themselves into the scheme before being ready to play. But I still don't rule out someone grabbing this kid if they lose a starter during OTAs or early in the preseason.
My crystal ball says: Kaepernick will keep a very low profile, saying all the right things when he does actually have to talk, keeping to himself and saying his prayers that he gets a chance to get the heck out of Santa Clara. And I see that happening, just not for a few more months. I don't see is him getting any meaningful time with the 49ers unless Gabbert gets hurt.
Don't count on seeing Kaepernick take a lot of meaningful snaps this season. (USATSI)
Paxton Lynch
This is John Elway's guy. Mark Sanchez was always just a guy, as there had to be some nominal veteran atop the depth chart. He was always just a place-holder as Elway chased Kaepernick and others, but there was never a real commitment to that concept of 2016 being about Sanchez. It won't take much for Lynch to leap ahead of Sanchez. Gary Kubiak knows how to baby a quarterback and in the meantime, play into Lynch's athleticism and what he does best. Coming off a Super Bowl and with this defense, I have a hard time seeing Elway stomaching losing games with a limited Sanchez at the helm -- throwing interceptions all over the place.
The Broncos might as well get those learning pains out of the way for Lynch, who could operate in the functional way Osweiler did. If not by Week 1, then certainly in plenty of time for the postseason.
My crystal ball says: It's Lynch in the opening game.
Lynch could very well end up being the Week 1 starter in Denver. (USATSI)
Cody Kessler
The Browns will get a chance to back up their words about this quarterback project. With the team they have assembled -- or the overall lack thereof -- Kessler will play this season at some point. Possibly sooner rather than later.
With Robert Griffin III at quarterback, injury is almost inevitable, especially given the state of this offensive line. By the middle of the season Josh McCown will be starting games for this team -- assuming he is still there.
Truth is, if executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown and coach Hue Jackson feel half as strongly about Kessler's ability to prove the entire rest of the league wrong and perform better than the 7th-round grade or UDFA-grade several teams had on him, then no sense carrying two veteran QBs on a team that will compete for the first-overall pick again in 2017.
So, yeah, I'm saying we'll get to see what Kessler can do in 2016, which on its face sounds shocking given how far most believe he is from being an NFL quarterback. And if he is thrust into the fire with this cast around him, you have to wonder if he's worse off for it down the line.
My crystal ball says: He will be starting at least four games. Gulp.
Expect Kessler to see the field and maybe get a handful of starts. (USATSI)
Brock Osweiler
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. The Texans play a pretty big-boy schedule this year -- tends to happen the year after you win the division -- and expectations are high.
This can't be a situation like a year ago with the coach having the quickest QB hook in the history of the NFL. This is Brock's team. He's the guy (even if the head coach sounded ambivalent at best about that prospect in the intro press conference and never even met the kid before the owner had stuffed $40 million into the QB's pocket).
So, yeah, fair to say I am less than convinced this is the answer to the Texans' lingering QB problem. Coach Bill O'Brien will have to stick with him, but after drafting more weapons on offense there won't be any excuses here. While Houston's defense made strides in the second half of last season, this isn't the 2015 Broncos defense.
Playing in the AFC South would generally make things much easier for Osweiler, only that division might actually be halfway decent this year, too.
My crystal ball says: There will be some tears and disappointment here. And I have a hunch that this ends up being only a two-year, $38 million deal that leaves a fair amount of carnage in its wake.
Expect Osweiler's ride in Houston to be a bumpy one. (USATSI)
Kirk Cousins
This can't be all doom and gloom.
I shook the crystal ball a few more times, getting confused for a few minutes and thinking it was a Magic 8 Ball.
I searched for positive signs and a beacon of hope. And it told me that Cousins would perform about the same as he did a year ago.
My crystal ball says: He'll toss a few more touchdowns. He will also be asked to do even more within that offense, thrive under pressure and put Dan Snyder in a position where he had to give the kid a massive new deal.
He has a bunch of weapons around him and the Redskins will find a way to run the football. The stress of the situation won't rattle Cousins. He might not end up in the Pro Bowl, but he'll further entrench himself as the fulcrum of this offense and one of the faces of the franchise as GM Scot McCloughan continues to build a bully that can contend in the pedestrian NFC East for years to come.
