The game of musical chairs may be heated, because it’s not supposed to be the greatest year for quarterback prospects in the draft.
▪ Tom Brady, Buccaneers: Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski said they believe Brady will be back.
The obvious destination is the 49ers, who probably wouldn’t mind delaying the Trey Lance era for one more season so Brady can finish his career with his childhood team.
The Dolphins make the most sense, as do the Raiders, who have an owner in Mark Davis who probably wouldn’t mind the jolt of publicity, and Josh McDaniels at head coach.
Despite the off-field issues, Watson should be highly coveted — it’s not often that an elite quarterback, who will be 27 in September, and is under contract for four more years for a relatively team-friendly $34 million per year, becomes available.
▪ Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos: He’s an unrestricted free agent, and after a disappointing season in which the Broncos finished 7-10 and ranked 23rd in points, Bridgewater probably won’t be back.
▪ Russell Wilson, Seahawks: Wilson’s camp has sent mixed messages — first his agent went on the record last offseason with a list of four teams to which Wilson would accept a trade, but Wilson denied that he requested a trade, and last week told Mad Dog Sports Radio that “my hope and goal is to be back and keep winning there.” This may just be about Wilson’s contract, which has two years and $50 million left, nearly half the going rate of the top quarterbacks.
▪ Carson Wentz, Colts: The Colts would like to move on after Wentz had a subpar season and the Colts missed the playoffs in embarrassing fashion.
The Colts could pay the $5 million roster bonus, and pay some of the $15 million guaranteed salary, to facilitate a trade.
The Lions could eat the roster bonus and trade Goff before the 17th, but it may be easier to keep him as the veteran seat-warmer for a rookie.
▪ Kyler Murray, Cardinals: He wasn’t on this list until Murray deleted all references to the Cardinals from his social media, and ESPN reported that some inside the Cardinals find Murray “immature” and “self-centered.” Murray’s contract is probably fueling some of this, as he is owed $34 million over the next two seasons, including just $5.5 million in 2022.
Ryan turns 37 in May, he hasn’t made the playoffs in four straight seasons, his $23.75 million compensation has no guarantees, and the Falcons can save $8 million or $23 million in cap space with a trade or release.
The problem is his 2022 salary of $18.858 million is fully guaranteed, and the Browns will have a tough time finding another team to take it unless the Browns pay for some of it.
Rodgers said last month that he and the Packers are “in a way different place.” Packers president Mark Murphy wrote this month that the Packers’ leaders “are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back.” And last week the Packers brought back quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, 68, who was Rodgers’s right-hand man for the first 11 years of his career.
▪ Kirk Cousins, Vikings: The Vikings would probably like to upgrade, but Cousins has a $35 million base salary in 2022 that is fully guaranteed, and good luck finding another team to take that on.
But Tannehill has $29 million fully guaranteed in 2022, it’s doubtful another team would take on that contract, and Tannehill still led his team to the No.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Joe Burrow’s injury was just a sprained MCL and shouldn’t require surgery, which is a relief given that Burrow’s 2020 season ended with a torn ACL.
The timing stinks, as Beckham is set to be a free agent, and his availability for the 2022 season is in doubt.
▪ Burrow looks to have a bright future after leading his team to the Super Bowl in just his second season.
▪ Burrow, 25, was mic’d up for the Super Bowl.
▪ Rams general manager Les Snead wore a T-shirt that read “ Them Picks” to the team’s championship parade, a reference to the fact that he has traded every first-round pick since 2017, and gave up second- and third-rounders for Von Miller.
Last week, ESPN reported that the Cowboys quietly paid a $2.4 million settlement to cheerleaders in 2015 over potential voyeurism from Rich Dalrymple, who was Jerry Jones’s top PR guy and right-hand man for 32 years before retiring Feb.
“We have been clear that the NFL must stop hiding the results of the Wilkinson investigation and fully comply with the Committee’s requests, or the Committee will have no choice but to take further action,” it said in a statement to the Washington Post.
When Malcolm Butler retired in early September, Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said the team was surprised, too, but that Butler had to take care of “some personal stuff.” But Thursday, the Cardinals released Butler from the reserve/retired list, and a source close to Butler confirmed that the cornerback is “definitely” making a comeback and hopes to be on a roster in 2022.