NFL teams in need of quarterbacks have options this offseason. You were just at the NFL Scouting Combine evaluating a draft class that included many prominent quarterbacks. In the meantime, check out a list of soon-to-be-available veterans that includes Russell Wilson and, coming soon, Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield and Justin Fields.
The NFL's free agent negotiation period begins on Monday. Then teams can begin making deals with unrestricted free agents from other teams. These contractual agreements, along with the deals, may become official next Wednesday. The quarterback market could be interesting as teams like the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos weigh what they could do with a free agent addition or a trade now versus what, what they might do next month draft.
Cousins could be the headliner among quarterbacks available in unrestricted free agency if the Minnesota Vikings don't re-sign him.
“We have our interests. He has his,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said at the combine last week. “And we sit down at the table and see if we can find a creative solution and how we can meet in the middle. … What we do know is that we have a really great quarterback, a great leader and someone who we believe we can win the ultimate prize with.”
Cousins will turn 36 in August and is coming off a season that was cut short by a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg. But he played extremely well before his injury. He was selected to the Pro Bowl four times and is a master at maximizing his market value. If a team decides Cousins is the player they need, he could emerge with another extremely lucrative contract.
The Broncos informed Wilson on Monday that they would release him next week. The move was widely expected after his two-year stay in Denver became increasingly controversial.
Wilson, 35, was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times and won the Super Bowl during his 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. He wasn't able to repeat that success in Denver, but was the eighth-best passer in the NFL last season. And the Broncos owe him $39 million for next season, minus any revenue he earns from his next team — meaning Wilson's new franchise may not have to give him an overly expensive deal, at least not for the first year.
The Broncos will have to replace Wilson while also dealing with an $85 million salary cap hit from his release. You can spread this amount over two seasons. And the cap will jump a record $30.6 million to $255.4 million per team from last season to the next. Still, the tight end is far from ideal and the Broncos may need to factor that into their quarterback considerations.
“We want to see the entire landscape,” Broncos GM George Paton said last week.
Sean Payton, who took over as coach of the Broncos last year, can only hope to find a quarterback who will allow him to repeat the success he had with Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints. Payton spoke at the combine about seeing a “humorous meme” of a Broncos fan wearing a jersey with the names of about eight quarterbacks all crossed out. The Broncos' job, Payton said, “is to make sure the next player doesn't cross a line.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opted before Tuesday's deadline not to place their franchise player tag on Mayfield and instead place him on safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The tag would have resulted in a one-year contract worth $38.301 million for Mayfield.
Mayfield, the former No. 1 pick in the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, revived his career with the Buccaneers last season, helping them reach the NFC playoffs and beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the opening round. After signing just a one-year contract with the Buccaneers last offseason, he is eligible for free agency. They could still re-sign Mayfield before the free agent market opens, and they would apparently be happy to do so. However, if that doesn't happen, Tampa Bay risks losing Mayfield to another bidder.
The Chicago Bears have the first pick in next month's draft and could use it on Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams. If so, the Bears might look to trade Fields, who has had some promising moments in his three NFL seasons but has yet to develop into a franchise quarterback.
The commanders have the No. 2 pick. The Patriots choose third place. The New York Giants are sixth. The Falcons are eighth. The Vikings are ranked 11th, followed by the Broncos at 12th and the Raiders at 13th.
It's possible that fellow quarterbacks Drake Maye of North Carolina and Jayden Daniels of LSU join Williams as top-three picks. The next tier of draft quarterbacks — Michigan's JJ McCarthy, Washington's Michael Penix and Oregon's Bo Nix — also show promise.
With that in mind, teams in need of quarterbacks need to consider free agency and potential trades. More can be done in April – in some cases, much more.
But some teams won't wait that long. There has been speculation that the Falcons will emerge as a top contender for Cousins next week. There has been speculation that the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Kenny Pickett on the roster and Mason Rudolph as a free agent, are a possibility, or that the Raiders are potential bidders for Wilson.
The Vikings could be in the veteran quarterback market if they fail to re-sign Cousins. The Buccaneers could join if they don't keep Mayfield. The Seahawks have reworked Geno Smith's contract and reportedly plan to keep him, but that hasn't stopped speculation that they might still make a quarterback change.
Other potential free agent quarterbacks include Ryan Tannehill, Gardner Minshew, Joe Flacco, Sam Darnold and Jacoby Brissett. The Raiders are widely expected to release Jimmy Garoppolo. The Patriots could trade Mac Jones. The New York Jets have given Zach Wilson permission to pursue a trade.
Even if it seems at the moment as if there are more experienced quarterbacks than coveted landing spots with starting opportunities, that rarely works out. The 32 NFL teams combined used 66 different starting quarterbacks last season and 69 in the 2022 season. The Browns already had five different starters last season, even as they reached the AFC playoffs. The fourth of them, Flacco, was out of the league until he signed in November, but was ultimately named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
The teams know how consequential these decisions are.
“It’s the most important position in sports,” Paton said last week. “So it’s important. … Our decision is very important.”