Hello everybody, welcome back to the Offseason Journey!
As we track closer to Free Agency, it is important to look at each position in its collective. The QB position is one that will be followed the most. It is the most important position in all of sports. Most free agent quarterbacks are players who are not looked around the league as a top-15 quarterback, but someone who might be a bridge QB, or someone who can tutor a young QB if a team is looking to draft a QB on the second day, which is the 2nd and 3rd round of the draft.
Geno Smith is a great example of this type of quarterback. Yet, if you have followed recent news around the league, Geno Smith is the next mid-level QB to join the Las Vegas Raiders. Ever since Derek Carr left the Raiders, the Raiders have been looking for their next QB. However, they have been waiting for the right guy. Time will tell when that said QB will come to fruition. Yet, it is more than likely that Smith went to the Raiders because of who coaches the Raiders, which is Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll was Smith’s first coach, and the two of them went to the playoffs, where they lost in the first round to the 49ers.
Anyways, let us take a free-agent preview of a few of free-agent QBs who are looking for their new home. In this section, we will look at Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Drew Lock.
Sam Darnold
I have followed Sam Darnold’s career ever since he was the highly touted QB at USC. As people who have followed Sam Darnold would know, he led USC to a win in the Rose Bowl against James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions. Then, he got drafted 3rd overall by the New York Jets, and has had a turbulent career to say the least.
All the hoopla around Sam Darnold has come from what he did with the Minnesota Vikings this previous year. He was signed to a 1-year, $10 million dollar contract. Then, because of an offseason injury to the guy who was looking to start the job, which was a rookie, Sam Darnold caught fire with an offensive head coach. Overall, they went 14-3 and ended their season losing a neutral playoff game to the Los Angeles Rams.
In order to evaluate this player, it is important to understand how Darnold plays in the biggest of games. In the playoff game against the Rams, he is giving long glances to his receivers throughout the game. For example, look at the play that leads to the interception at the 3:10 mark of this video.
Darnold throws a pick to Coby Durant because he was deadlocking on Jordan Addison, and throws the ball inside, when the receiver runs an out route.
As you can see from this video, this game shows pros and cons for why Darnold should be signed for any team that is looking for a QB, such as the Seattle Seahawks, since they got rid of Geno Smith. Darnold is prone to be a risk-taker, which has been more of a problem for him, due to the high risk of him throwing an INT. Because of this, I believe it is a bad financial decision to sign him for a 3-year/$100-million-dollar contract. Yet, when he is given time, he can make good reads, and therefore get the ball to the playmakers.
Even though people think he will go to Seattle, this would be a bad move for him due to Seattle having a defensive-leaning head coach, and the uncertainty of what the roster looks like around him. He needs great infrastructure around him in order to succeed. I would sign him for a 2-year/$50-million-dollar deal if I was a GM looking for a QB.
Justin Fields
Justin Fields is your typical QB who had high hopes, but is quickly running out of time. It should not have to take much deductive reasoning to understand that Fields is not your long-term QB in any condition. He had an offensive head coach in Matt Nagy when he got drafted to Chicago, but Nagy got fired, and then he struggled with a defensive-leaning head coach, Matt Eberflus.
He goes to Pittsburgh, and is quickly supplanted by a QB that will be discussed Overall, I believe he will be signed as a backup somewhere, making $8 million for a year. This contract would be heavily incentive-laden.
Russell Wilson
Once Russell Wilson started playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game against the New York Jets, he was able to quell most of the criticism that came from the way things ended when he was on his last stop in Denver. Though as the season got later, and the outside temperature got colder, his limitations (due to age and playing style) became exposed and created problems that brought them to their ultimate fate of being a fringe playoff team.
If I were to predict his future in Pittsburgh, he likely has two more years left. Pittsburgh is likely not going to look for a QB in the draft or free agency, except for Wilson. Then next year, the Steelers could start looking for their QB of the future. I would expect that whatever contract Pittsburgh brass negotiates with him would front-load money on the contract for the first year, but put incentives on the back end, due to Wilson’s age and need to find a long-term solution at the position.
Drew Lock
Drew Lock has been an interesting player in the league due to his small stature, and his rocky start in the league. He started 3-0 in Denver, but then had an acrimonious finish there, and got traded for Seattle for Russell Wilson. He had one great act in Seattle in a primetime win over a streaky Philadelphia Eagle team, and then left for the Giants, who have been chaotic ever since he got there.
This QB is the definition of a free agent. I believe his two logical fits are the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants. Both these teams do not have a definite No. 1 at QB. I believe he would gladly take the 1-year/$10 Million dollar contract to compete for the starting job with either one. I think it would be better for him to go back to Seattle, because under Klint Kubiak, the new offensive coordinator, Drew Lock would be able to thrive in their offense, because Klint Kubiak would be able to execute an offense around Lock’s capabilities. Drew Lock is a great athlete and can run the bootleg play-action plays, while also throwing the ball with good accuracy (around 60%).
Alright, thanks guys for reading and let me know if you have any comments.
Offseason Journey in the NFL 