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Slim pickings among available quarterbacks in NFL
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_829a6ef3-74d8-5ce3-af7e-1ec8b92910da.html
At his season-ending news conference on Dec. 30, coach Jeff Fisher mapped out the Rams’ quarterback plan for 2015.
“There’s going to be competition at the quarterback position, there’s no doubt,” he said. “With somebody that’s not in the building right now. We’re hopeful for that.”
The time is growing near to find that competition for Sam Bradford, who the team would like to bring back at a reduced rate. Fourteen quarterbacks fresh out of college, including headliners Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, will compete at the NFL Scouting Combine. It starts Tuesday in Indianapolis.
And in the hallways, lobbies, coffee shops, and restaurants all over downtown Indy, the “tampering” season gets under way in terms of the free-agent market. Outside teams aren’t allowed to legally negotiate with pending free agents until the three-day negotiating period begins March 7.
But (wink, wink) “feelers” will be sent out at the Combine by teams interested in a pending free agent, or by agents seeking to drum up business for one of their clients.
As far as the Rams are concerned, they might get a feel for the free-agent quarterback market. Twenty-two QBs are scheduled to hit the market 3½ weeks from now, when the free-agency period opens March 10.
To be blunt, it’s not much of a market. And that might be putting it mildly when you consider that the “headliners” in the group are the likes of Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, Colt McCoy, Matt Moore and Mark Sanchez.
There are recent first-round draftees, such as Tennessee’s Jake Locker and Minnesota’s Christian Ponder, who have washed out with their current clubs.
And a couple of golden oldies in Michael Vick and Matt Hasselbeck — both considered among the top players at their position in their heyday but now past their prime at ages 34 and 39, respectively.
Beyond that, there are the likes of Tyrod Taylor, Jimmy Clausen, Joe Webb, Dan Orlovsky and Jordan Palmer. Anybody in that group do anything for you?
Didn’t think so.
“If I had to win one game with that group, I’d pick Hasselbeck — and he’s 39,” said Rick Venturi, a longtime NFL coach now working as a radio analyst in Indianapolis.
Considering that list, Venturi said the Rams “may be boxed in” at the QB position unless they can manufacture a trade or draft somebody in a lean crop of college quarterbacks.
The Rams’ Shaun Hill also is on the list of 22 unrestricted free-agent quarterbacks, and the Rams at this point would like to bring him back — as a backup.
Even by signing one of the “headliners” in the free-agent group, to a large degree you’d be going more on projection than production.
Some examples:
Hoyer • He’s had stints with four teams over his six NFL seasons and has played in only 32 games, with 17 starts. Most of that playing time has come in Cleveland the past two seasons, where he’s 10-6 as a starter.
Hoyer’s numbers aren’t impressive; he completed only 55.3 percent of his passes in 14 games (13 starts) last season, throwing more interceptions (13) than TD passes (12) and posting a sub-par 76.5 passer rating.
But Hoyer, 29, is high on intangibles, including leadership and competitiveness. It looks as if the Browns aren’t ready to give up on Johnny Manziel. And it looks as if Hoyer wants to go elsewhere, somewhere where he has a legitimate chance to be a starter.
Mallett • He has played even less than Hoyer. In his first three NFL seasons, Mallett, 26, threw only four passes in the regular season. He threw 75 times last year for Houston, for which he had two starts.
He was very effective in his first start, completing 20 of 30 passes for 211 yards in a 23-7 victory in Cleveland on Nov. 16. His day included two touchdowns, one interception and a 95.3 passer rating.
But he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the game, and tried to tough it out the next week against Cincinnati. After waiting 3½ years for a starting opportunity, he wanted to keep going.
That showed toughness, but all in all it was a bad idea. He completed only 21 of 45 passes and threw an interception in a 22-13 loss to the Bengals and underwent season-ending surgery after that contest.
Houston seems like a good spot for Mallett — the Texans run the same offense as Mallet had in New England, where he spent his first three seasons. (Houston coach Bill O’Brien is a former Patriots assistant.)
Moore • There was a time when he looked like an up-and-coming QB. After guiding the Panthers to a 4-1 record to conclude the 2009 season, he opened 2010 as the starter. But things didn’t go well. He threw three interceptions in the season opener, went 1-4 as a starter and suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in early November.
Moore, 30, started 12 games in 2011 for Miami, but has thrown only 29 passes in five games since the Dolphins drafted Ryan Tannehill in 2012.
Trade bait • Besides free agency, there’s also the trade market. But the Rams have only five draft picks this season — they’ve used all of the bounty of picks they received in the so-called “RGIII Trade of 2012.” So they would have to tap into future draft classes, or trade players on their current roster, to make something happen trade-wise.
Around the league, Jay Cutler, Chase Daniel, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Nick Foles, and Mike Glennon have been mentioned as possible trade options.
Cutler is the most accomplished of that group, showing flashes of brilliance but also lacking the leadership skills necessary to be a franchise QB. He’s expected to return to Chicago under new head coach John Fox and new offensive coordinator Adam Gase, in part because he’ll be entering only the second year of a seven-year, $126.7 million extension.
That monster deal makes a trade very difficult because a team acquiring Cutler would inherit his contract — at least the base salary. And Cutler is due to make $15.5 million in base salary this year. If the Rams made that trade, it would be all-but impossible to keep Bradford and his $12.85 million base salary for ’15.
