NEWSLETTER
The calm before the pending storm of quarterback rumors isn’t really all that calm. So let’s take a look at what’s coming before the heavy stuff hits us.
• I kicked-off Saturday’s rumor round-up with a quarantine dating joke. And here I am going back to the well again, because this is what the kids would refer to as shooting your shot from Curry range. Because the quarterback derby is so wild, NFL Network’s team of insiders report that teams have called on Russell Wilson:
The @NFLGameDay Notebook with @MikeGarafolo and @TomPelissero: The QB carousel is so crazy, teams have even called the #Seahawks on Russell Wilson (no interest, by the way); #Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy expected to re-sign in KC; Two KC players who opted out for '20 will opt back in. pic.twitter.com/gEH3yeXSOZ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 7, 2021
• As one might expect, the Seahawks have no intention or interest in trading Wilson. But that teams are willing to be bold enough to ask says everything you need to know about how crazy things will get once this offseason starts in earnest.
• Speaking of having minimum interest in trading a star signal caller, the Texans appear to be standing their ground in not wanting to deal Deshaun Watson. I can’t blame them. Watson is a really good quarterback. And as long as really good quarterbacks don’t grow on trees, teams will be hesitant to trade them. But there’s a certain firmness in Adam Schefter’s reporting at ESPN that puts me at attention.
• There’s certainly an interesting interplay there with a team like the Bears being surprisingly aggressive on Carson Wentz (more on that in a moment). Because what if the Texans really don’t trade Watson? Or what if they wait it out until late in the summer? It wouldn’t be unheard of, as it would mimic what the Raiders did with pass-rusher Khalil Mack ahead of the 2018 season. Should teams wait it out? Search for alternatives via trades, free agency, or the draft? Run it back with what was on the squad last year? These are real questions that front offices must answer. And I’m not convinced there is an easy solution for any of the teams digging for help on the QB market.
• If Watson is truly off the market, then it opens things up elsewhere. And for other quarterbacks. Among them is a quarterback who has been loosely connected as a possible Bears target:
Multiple teams have reached out to the New York Jets and inquired about trading for QB Sam Darnold, per league sources.https://t.co/7h1Fol26QM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2021
• Days after reporting that Sam Darnold could net the Jets a late first-round pick, Schefter reports that teams are linking up with New York’s AFC team to kick the tires on Darnold. Schefter doesn’t drop any concrete hints as to which teams have called, but points to runners-up in the Matthew Stafford derby as possible landing spots. Those tams include Washington, Indianapolis, Carolina, San Francisco, and the Bears.
• In a world where you can’t get what you don’t ask for, part of me wants to applaud the Lions for having the audacity to make this ask of the Rams in their Stafford trade talks:
When trade talks began between the Rams and Lions, the first player Detroit requested in a trade for QB Matthew Stafford was DT Aaron Donald, per sources. Rams told Lions, that's not happening, before the two sides later figured out the eventual compensation package. https://t.co/blGUo3f47y
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2021
• But part of me wants to clown the Lions for being the guy in your fantasy league who is pushing his QB2 in a trade for your top RB, WR, and TE. (Sidebar: Why did the Lions not green-light that Panthers trade? Teddy Bridgewater, the eighth overall pick, and a future fifth-rounder for Stafford looks like a stellar return to me.)
• From Darnold, to Detroit, to an update on Dak:
The #Cowboys will franchise tag QB Dak Prescott again — unless they can get a long-term deal done first. That’s the goal, and thanks in part to a second surgery, the team has zero qualms medically. He’s ahead of schedule.
My story with @TomPelissero: https://t.co/n1vtNxpF3r
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 7, 2021
• Unsurprisingly, the Cowboys are expected to hand Dak Prescott the Franchise Tag for the second straight offseason. Even though Prescott’s 2020 ended early because of a gruesome ankle injury, reports of him having no medical concerns after multiple surgeries to repair the injury is (1) good news for the player and his health, and (2) welcome new to a Cowboys franchise that realized how much Prescott’s excellence covered up for the stink.
• A formality ahead of Drew Brees’ retirement:
Per league source the #Saints have renegotiated Drew Brees' contract to open up nearly $24M in cap space for 2021.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) February 6, 2021
• NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Tom Pelissero have a running QB carousel post that is being constantly updating. As of this posting, it features nuggets on the Eagles’ haul for Carson Wentz being significant (but lighter than the Stafford deal), Josh Rosen, the Saints’ Jameis Winston-Taysom Hill conundrum, Vegas possibly weighing trading Derek Carr or Marcus Mariota, and more. Let’s keep an eye on that as things develop.
