2015 Top Free Agents: Quarterbacks

[Prime Time]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/02/20/2015-top-free-agents-quarterbacks/

2015 Top Free Agents: Quarterbacks
Ben Stockwell | February 20, 2015



1. Jake Locker

2014 Grade: -16.7

2014 Snaps: 309

It’s rarely a good year to be looking for a quarterback in free agency and this year provides a particularly barren crop. No-one is going to give any of these quarterbacks the keys to their offense coming in the door. The key to finding value from these quarterbacks is going to be pairing them with systems and situations to match what they do well.

Locker gradually fell out of favor in Tennessee and had some dreadful displays this season but did show some promise in 2012 and 2013. At the start of 2013 in particular he got off to a strong start in the first four weeks (+8.5 passing grade) before a hip injury derailed what looked like a promising season. Any team signing Locker to compete for a starting job will be hoping to re-discover that Jake Locker.

2. Matt Moore

2014 Grade: -1.2

2014 Snaps: 31

Moore’s days as a starter seem to be behind him having played only 94 snaps since the Dolphins drafted Ryan Tannehill in 2012. As a dependable backup Moore arguably offers more of a sure thing than many players coming off of greater playing time in 2014.

Going way back to 2011 for Moore’s last extended playing time we find a strong season for Miami (+15.3passing grade) where he finished inside the top 15 of our quarterback grades. That’s a long time ago, but a caliber of play that most teams would grab with both hands right now. Moore may return to Miami as Ryan Tannehill’s backup, but teams with young, unproven signal callers could do worse than having Moore as an insurance plan and competition to push their young quarterback on.

3. Ryan Mallett

2014 Grade: -7.4

2014 Snaps: 158

There were two unknowns about the Patriots’ 2011 third round pick entering this season; What is he worth? And how good is he? We found out the answer to the first question (a conditional seventh round pick, not a first round pick as some had suggested) but a pectoral injury robbed everyone of the chance to make a true evaluation.

Mallett played (poorly) through that injury against the Bengals in Week 12 to leave us only with a solid display at Cleveland the prior week to judge Mallett as a professional quarterback. The unknown factor may play in Mallett’s favor though (assuming his injury checks out for him to be signed early on), we’re still not sure how good or bad Mallett is, but that can’t be said for many other quarterbacks in this class.

4. Tarvaris Jackson

2014 Grade: 0.0

2014 Snaps: 3

Much like Matt Moore two spots above him, Jackson’s limited playing time since a new starting quarterback was acquired in 2012 makes him an unknown factor of recent times. However, stretching back to his most recent playing time you find a safe pair of hands both as a short term starter and a backup.

Jackson offers some mobility to the edge and has an arm to make better throws than simply pigeon holing him as a game manager, baby sitting a team until the team is ready for a younger signal caller. Jackson is by no means a nailed-on-safe option but at no point has he been as poor as some of the other quarterbacks in this free agent class.

5. Brian Hoyer

2014 Grade: -18.8

2014 Snaps: 934

2014 was Hoyer’s big chance to take his potential and turn it into reality but he didn’t take it. Things started reasonably with solid games up to Week 6 placing him inside our top 10 graded quarterbacks but things went drastically downhill from there. After that point Hoyer earned a -23.4 overall grade with only rookies Derek Carr (-26.8) and Blake Bortles (-29.7) earning a lower grade in the last 11 weeks of the season.

The last four weeks before his benching were particularly poor in summary. If Hoyer can re-discover his form from the start of the season then perhaps there is still something to salvage here, but he’ll be on a short leash with whatever opportunity he is given for 2015.

6. Mark Sanchez

2014 Grade: -9.8

2014 Snaps: 640

Mark Sanchez and his agent found the perfect scenario to rebound from his time in New York, biding his time behind Nick Foles. Sanchez was given the opportunity to unseat the underwhelming Foles and did little to turn around the perceptions about his ability. In a quarterback friendly system there were productive performances that hid the fact that Sanchez was still the same inaccurate, mistake prone quarterback that we saw with the Jets.

As a quarterback with extensive starting experience, aged only 28 and having taken (or been taken, depending on your view) his team to consecutive AFC title games to start his career he will surely have offers once again. At some point Sanchez’s performances must start to outweigh his experience in evaluating what he can bring to a team.

7. Josh McCown

2014 Grade: -18.3

2014 Snaps: 644

A year ago McCown was an intriguing free agent prospect, coming off of a career resurrecting season under Marc Trestman in Chicago he was without doubt the top free agent in terms of 2013 performance. That 2013 performance however didn’t come with him to Tampa Bay, suffering a letdown season with the Bucs.

In both seasons McCown had the physical downfield options at wide receiver and was productive both years in that regard, but fell down in terms of avoiding mistakes this season. When he was with the Bears McCown only threw one interception in five starts, but a year later with the Bucs threw 11 on short and intermediate targets alone. No quarterback on this list has produced close to McCown’s 2013 in recent seasons; the question is whether that was merely a flash in the pan.

8. Colt McCoy

2014 Grade: -5.8

2014 Snaps: 249

Continuing the theme of calculated risks and reclamation projects, McCoy produced a late season quarterback controversy in Washington though his high watermark consists of only one game against the Cowboys in Week 8. A strong showing with his arm and his legs momentarily disrupted, Dallas’ season but is that enough to resurrect McCoy’s career?

McCoy spread the ball around the field in his five games for Washington this season and wasn’t poor in any area. By that same token he wasn’t very good in any given area either. In the right situation, possibly returning to the nation’s capital with Jay Gruden, McCoy could at least contribute to a quarterback competition and offer some insurance off the bench.

9. Matt Flynn

2014 Grade: -1.8

2014 Snaps: 31

The question that will continue to hang over Flynn and to some extent calls into question his place on this list is whether he offers any value to any team not named the Packers. In both Seattle and Oakland Flynn failed to grasp his opportunity to be a starter out of Aaron Rodgers’ shadow. Even after he returned to Green Bay he turned in poor performances against the Lions and Steelers in 2013 when pressed into a more extended run in the starting lineup.

The Packers seem to have a level of confidence with Flynn as their backup quarterback so an extension to his second stint in Green Bay would be no surprise. If they do choose to move on will his struggles in 2012 and 2013 limit his opportunities elsewhere?

10. Christian Ponder

2014 Grade: -4.4

2014 Snaps: 91

Rounding out an underwhelming quarterback class is the third former first round pick in this top ten. Things started poorly for Ponder in Minnesota and rarely got better, despite having Adrian Peterson to lean on in the running game. Even when riding Adrian Peterson to a playoff berth in 2012 Ponder turned in far more poor performances than good ones, earning a passing grade below -10.0 in each of his three seasons as Minnesota’s starter.

At 27 the Vikings have given up on Ponder who is still fairly young. There is perhaps some hope that a new team can find something in Ponder as a reclamation project, at a similar stage in his career as when Alex Smith looked to be destined for an underwhelming career at best. Can a coach see the positives in Ponder to turn him around and resurrect his career as Alex Smith did under Jim Harbaugh and subsequently Andy Reid?

Follow Ben on Twitter: @PFF_Ben

 

[RamBill]

Rams free-agent preview: Quarterback
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16470/rams-free-agent-preview-quarterback-2

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The free-agent market is scheduled to open March 10 and teams may begin negotiations with those poised to hit the market beginning March 7. We'll count down to that with a position-by-position look at what the St. Louis Rams have in place, who is set to hit the market, what they might need and who might fit the bill.

Under contract: Sam Bradford

Pending free agents: Shaun Hill, Austin Davis (restricted)

What's needed: Strange as it may sound with two of the three quarterbacks on the current roster coming up on free agency, it's the one under contract that will determine what happens with the other spots. The Rams would like to reduce Bradford's contract. That's an on going process that comes with no guarantees. But everything the Rams have done and said this offseason indicates Bradford will be back. Even if that occurs, the Rams plan to add to the position. General manager Les Snead likened it to loading up on pitching in baseball. Get as many arms as you realistically can and let it shake out.

Including Hill and Davis, the Rams could sign or draft as many as three quarterbacks behind Bradford. Chances are good that they'll keep Davis since they mostly control his rights and Hill could be brought back as the veteran option though it would appear there's only room for one of them at most on the roster. It's still unclear what form it will take but the Rams are going to increase their choices one way or another this offseason.

Possible fits: There really isn't much on the free-agent market that would move the needle or represent much of an upgrade over Bradford. But the question will be if there's someone the Rams believe could be an upgrade over Hill and Davis. With Chris Weinke installed as the quarterbacks coach, the Rams might be more open to some outside fits. Weinke has worked with a couple of notable free agents in Christian Ponder and Josh Freeman at IMG Academy. Don't rule out the possibility that the Rams will consider some of those types with Weinke's input.

There are, of course, other names that could hit the market though all seem to fit into the category of underwhelming. Brian Hoyer, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Mallett, Matt Moore and Colt McCoy are some of the signal callers poised to hit the market. If the Rams prefer to try the trade route, names like Chase Daniel. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Mike Glennon are thought to be attainable. Those Nick Foles rumors are also out there though the Rams' supposed interest has been exaggerated a bit.

Verdict: Although I expect the Rams to explore the market and look closer at a variety of different quarterbacks, the guess here is that the only quarterback the Rams add from outside the building comes from the draft. They've expressed enough interest in Davis and Hill that I believe they'll bring both back with a tender offer for Davis and another one-year deal for Hill. From there, the Rams will turn their attention to one of the incoming rookies with an eye toward developing him for the future.

 

[Memento]

Wouldn't mind taking a shot on Jackson; he's much better than Hill and Davis.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Wouldn't mind taking a shot on Jackson; he's much better than Hill and Davis.

Not sure what you can be basing that on. Regardless, there isn't much to get excited about among any of those choices. It sure sucks when we're debating who is the better option between those three and worse to think that we could very well be rolling with said guy next year...again. ugh!

We better be able to run the ball.

 

[Memento]

Not sure what you can be basing that on. Regardless, there isn't much to get excited about among any of those choices. It sure sucks when we're debating who is the better option between those three and worse to think that we could very well be rolling with said guy next year...again. ugh!

We better be able to run the ball.

Jackson was good as an occasional spot starter and backup in Seattle. Hill and Davis were both terrible. Jackson, like the article said, has a good arm that can thread the needle, mobility within the pocket without happy feet, and he's matured a ton since his days in Minnesota. He's the exact guy that Wilson credits as being like a second coach and helping him get acclimated to the NFL.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...sell-wilson/BfIQEZDmQ8Iw5m5r2ofIMO/story.html

He's also extremely lucky...

 

[RaminExile]

Freemans better though surely?

 

[RaminExile]

Jackson was good as an occasional spot starter and backup in Seattle. Hill and Davis were both terrible. Jackson, like the article said, has a good arm that can thread the needle, mobility within the pocket without happy feet, and he's matured a ton since his days in Minnesota. He's the exact guy that Wilson credits as being like a second coach and helping him get acclimated to the NFL.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...sell-wilson/BfIQEZDmQ8Iw5m5r2ofIMO/story.html

He's also extremely lucky...

I admit I haven't seen much of him since his Minnesota days - but what I remember from that was terrible. His mechanics were all over the place. He looked like a windmill with arms and legs flailing everywhere when he threw it - and as a result he threw a lot of picks.

 

[Memento]

I admit I haven't seen much of him since his Minnesota days - but what I remember from that was terrible. His mechanics were all over the place. He looked like a windmill with arms and legs flailing everywhere when he threw it - and as a result he threw a lot of picks.

Again, he's thirty-one years old, and has matured a ton from his Minnesota days. He has consistently gone up against Seattle's defense as both an occasional starter (when they don't want to put Wilson in) and as a #2. That's another reason why I want him; he knows their tendencies like the back of his hand. He knows Wilson, he knows their defense, he knows their coaches, etc. There may not be a single true starting quarterback in this free agent class, but Jackson is honestly my best bet out of all of them.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Again, he's thirty-one years old, and has matured a ton from his Minnesota days. He has consistently gone up against Seattle's defense as both an occasional starter (when they don't want to put Wilson in) and as a #2. That's another reason why I want him; he knows their tendencies like the back of his hand. He knows Wilson, he knows their defense, he knows their coaches, etc. There may not be a single true starting quarterback in this free agent class, but Jackson is honestly my best bet out of all of them.

Good point about familiarity with the enemy. I do respect your opinion but I hope we never have to find out you if are right (as our starter).

 

[Memento]

Good point about familiarity with the enemy. I do respect your opinion but I hope we never have to find out you if are right (as our starter).

What other options do we have? We need leverage over Bradford so that a restructure/trade can be made possible. All of the other options in the free agent/trade market are unreliable at best and terrible at worst. We are probably never going to have a shot at either Mariota or Winston (not that I want Winston at all; I just think that his Combine wasn't indicative of what kind of quarterback he really is). With Jackson in the fold, you have at least two major needs checked off: a capable backup for Bradford if he goes down and insurance in case his agent wants the moon.

He's not a perfect option, no, but he's the best option that we have. I refuse to count on Bradford anymore; I can't trust him being healthy in time for the start of the season, I can't trust his agent to restructure, and I can't count on him wanting to be there in the future.

Point I'm trying to make is this: if Bradford doesn't find it in his heart to restructure and actually help the damned team survive his bloated contract for once, I'm done with him.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Regardless of what we do with Sam or in the Draft we probably need at least one of those guys too. The options are not pretty but that's why they're on the waiver wire. I wonder if Hill might retire.

 

[Irish]

Yeesh...


I have said this before, the modern QB position is too hard for every team to have one because I am not convinced 32 men in the world exist who can play the position. Hell, I'm not convinced a majority of NFL hall of famers wouldn't get eaten alive if they played today. I wish someone would find a way to fundamentally change the position and make it to where it was closer to the rest of the pack. Honestly, there is no reason that a QB's job should be so much more complicated than a RB, LT, or #1 WR. The modern day NFL puts too much pressure on these guys to be franchise saviors and posses transcendent talent, and only a handful do.

That's why I am starting to like NCAA football more and more each year (Mizzou joining the SEC and constant relocation talk certainly doesn't hurt). Spread offenses are just more fun to watch, because every college seems to have a dynamic athlete at QB who can play the position, and be moderately successful.

 

[den-the-coach]

Wouldn't mind taking a shot on Jackson; he's much better than Hill and Davis.

No he's not! I much rather Hill or Davis than Jackson IMHO Jackson never really had it actually after looking at this crop, it made Hill look like the second coming of Don Strock.

 

[Memento]

No he's not! I much rather Hill or Davis than Jackson IMHO Jackson never really had it actually after looking at this crop, it made Hill look like the second coming of Don Strock.

Jackson led Seattle to a 7-9 record before they had Russell Wilson, threw for 3,000 yards, and had a positive touchdown/interception rate (14/13) all with utter shit at receiver. Hill led the Lions to a record below that with Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, and Nate Burleson, threw for less yards, two more touchdowns, and had one less pick than Jackson. All of this with a better corps of receivers than Jackson ever had at Seattle or Minnesota.

And Davis? Davis was atrocious when teams figured him out. He doesn't deserve a practice squad spot, much less a spot on any 53-man roster in the NFL. And you'd take him over Jackson? Seriously?

At least Jackson can throw a decent deep ball. At least Jackson has some kind of awareness in the pocket. Again, I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's clearly better than any of the others.

 

[den-the-coach]

At least Jackson can throw a decent deep ball. At least Jackson has some kind of awareness in the pocket. Again, I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's clearly better than any of the others.

Very good points and he's more mobile than Hill as well. I always looked at Hill being superior, however, he's a few years younger and a better athlete too. I guess this list reminds me of the women at a bar in Toledo across from the depot, nobody looks good.

 

[Memento]

Very good points and he's more mobile than Hill as well. I always looked at Hill being superior, however, he's a few years younger and a better athlete too. I guess this list reminds me of the women at a bar in Toledo across from the depot, nobody looks good.

Um...Hill is four years older than Jackson, and I don't think he's ever been a better athlete than Jackson (who ran a 4.69 at the 2006 Combine). Jackson will turn thirty-two in April; Hill turned thirty-five this January.

 

[den-the-coach]

Um...Hill is four years older than Jackson, and I don't think he's ever been a better athlete than Jackson (who ran a 4.69 at the 2006 Combine). Jackson will turn thirty-two in April; Hill turned thirty-five this January.

That's what I was posting, I was pointing that out in my reply!

 

[Memento]

That's what I was posting, I was pointing that out in my reply!

Oh, jeez, I completely misread it. My apologies, den.

 

[SierraRam]

Let Hill & Davis or a FA battle for #2, but who do we draft as our #3? My pick in the 5th round: Sean Mannion, Oregon:

STRENGTHS: sports an NFL-caliber frame, has the arm to make every throw and is a classic drop-back passer with limited mobility. When he feels secure in the pocket and has the time to step into his throws correctly, Mannion's touch on intermediate and vertical passes is as impressive as any quarterback in the country. He lofts the ball with perfect trajectory over the shoulder of his receivers and allows them to go get it, demonstrating pinpoint accuracy to lead his target away from defenders.

 

[den-the-coach]

Oh, jeez, I completely misread it. My apologies, den.

No issue...All's good and you're were right on point about Jackson.