No sooner did the clock strike 9am Pacific, but the rumors began to fly. As you might expect in the NFL, the first and most discussed rumors of the free agent negotiating period involved quarterbacks. And with this year’s crop of free agents, that is a sad, sad conversation.
There are several teams who are in desperate need of a quarterback. The draft isn’t looking too promising at the position, so the best bet for many of these QB needy teams is to go hard after a free agent.
Meanwhile the Raiders and their fans sit back and enjoy the show with their franchise quarterback Derek Carr in place. It’s a good feeling they hadn’t had often in the decade prior to Carr’s arrival.
The free agent QB’s out there teams are falling over themselves are currently led by Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tony Romo, and Mike Glennon.
Cousins just signed his second consecutive franchise tag in Washington which pays him Andrew Luck money. That’s $24 million for those unfamiliar with Luck’s record breaking NFL contract. And that $24 million for Cousins is guaranteed.
Currently the frontrunner to trade for Cousins is the 49ers, whose new head coach was Falcons’ offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan. Prior to his time in Atlanta, Shanahan was the OC in Washington when the team drafted Cousins. He is a big fan of Cousins and would very much like to have him as his franchise quarterback.
The Raiders are actively hoping to extend Derek Carr at a deal at or above Cousins money. The difference here is Carr is in house already as a former second round pick. To earn the right to take over Cousins’s contract, the 49ers will have to send picks to Washington. Perhaps a first rounder, perhaps multiple picks.
And that’s the best looking situation of the bunch.
Speaking of sending multiple picks in a trade; the Patriots are said to be asking for two first round picks to pry Garoppolo away. TWO FIRST ROUND PICKS! That’s a first round pick for every start in Garoppolo’s career (2).
The team that would be interested most is the Cleveland Browns, who own the number one overall pick in the draft. Yeah, there’s no way they would trade the number one pick AND THEN another top pick next year for a QB with 94 career NFL passes (would they?).
Whether they would or not, the Browns are a sad affair and are at the mercy of the Patriots who are playing hardball, dangling their unproven backup.
Where this gets really interesting is when you go back to the 2014 draft. With the 22 overall pick, the Browns selected Johnny Manziel. 14 picks later, the Raiders select Derek Carr. The next QB off the board, in the bottom of the 2nd round, 40 picks after Manziel, and 26 picks after Carr is Jimmy Garoppolo.
Thing is, Manziel is still available and is looking to make a comeback. Just sayin.
Then there’s Tony Romo the injury riddled 37-year-old whose latest injury opened the door for reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Dak Prescott to take the league by storm.
The Cowboys will either trade Romo or cut him. Most likely cut. And the most interested team is said to be the Broncos, who have some experience snatching up good quarterbacks who were lost for a full season and are now in the twilight of their careers.
But Romo is no Peyton Manning. And Manning had his one major injury and that was it. Romo has played a grand total of 5 games in two years. Manning also had a ring before he went to Denver. Romo has two career playoff wins.
Then there’s Mike Glennon. Who is rumored to fetch some $14 million on the open market. Mike. Freaking. Glennon.
Glennon started 13 games his rookie season in Tampa in 2013 and his left tackle was charged with a league worst 12 sacks. The Buccaneers, of course, quickly cut that scrub left tackle, who was clearly washed up. Some guy named Donald Penn. What ever happened to that guy, anyway?
With new left tackle Anthony Collins in place, Glennon was on the verge of super stardom. He went from being sacked over 3 times per game in 2013 to being sacked 2.7 sacks per game in 2014. It was enough to give Glennon a 1-4 record and the Buccaneers the number one overall pick.
Meanwhile, that washed up left tackle Donald Penn was named to the Pro Bowl last season after his third season in Oakland with a quarterback who actually has some pocket presence.
With that you have Raiders fans watching the quarterback free agency rumors like...
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