Free agents can start signing contracts on Thursday, and Mike Glennon should be one of the first big dominoes to fall. He’s not a can’t-miss prospect, but there’s at least some potential that he’s one of the league’s 30 best quarterbacks.
Glennon hasn’t played much the last two years, but that’s tied mainly to the Bucs having Jameis Winston fall into their laps. Once they selected Winston No. 1 overall, that relegated Glennon to holding the clipboard (tablet, if you will).
Prior to Winston showing up, Glennon was making decent enough progress. His numbers his final two years at North Carolina State were pretty similar to what Russell Wilson had done in the previous two years at that program. Glennon in his two years completed over 60 percent, with 62 TDs versus 29 interceptions. Not that he’ll be anywhere near as good as Wilson, but there could be some potential there to tap into.
Glennon started 13 games as a rookie for the Bucs and was decent. He went just 4-9 for a really bad team, but he threw 19 TDs versus only 9 interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 83.9. By my count, there are 32 quarterbacks active in the league right now who attempted at least 100 passes in their rookie season, and only 11 of those players finished with better passer rating.
| ROOKIE NUMBERS FOR QUARTERBACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
| 2016 | Dak Prescott, Dall. | 68% | 3,667 | 23 | 4 | 104.9 |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin III, Wash. | 66% | 3,200 | 20 | 5 | 102.4 |
| 2012 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 64% | 3,118 | 26 | 10 | 100.0 |
| 2004 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 66% | 2,621 | 17 | 11 | 98.1 |
| 2016 | Cody Kessler, Clev. | 66% | 1,380 | 6 | 2 | 92.2 |
| 2015 | Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | 62% | 2,818 | 19 | 10 | 91.5 |
| 2006 | Jay Cutler, Den. | 59% | 1,001 | 9 | 5 | 88.5 |
| 2008 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 61% | 3,440 | 16 | 11 | 87.7 |
| 2014 | Teddy Bridgewater, Minn. | 64% | 2,919 | 14 | 12 | 85.2 |
| 2011 | Cam Newton, Car. | 60% | 4,051 | 21 | 17 | 84.5 |
| 2015 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | 58% | 4,042 | 22 | 15 | 84.2 |
| 2013 | Mike Glennon, T.B. | 59% | 2,608 | 19 | 9 | 83.9 |
| 2012 | Nick Foles, Phil. | 63% | 1,699 | 6 | 5 | 82.1 |
| 2011 | Andy Dalton, Cin. | 58% | 3,398 | 20 | 13 | 80.4 |
| 2008 | Joe Flacco, Balt. | 60% | 2,971 | 14 | 12 | 80.3 |
| 2016 | Carson Wentz, Phil. | 62% | 3,782 | 16 | 14 | 79.2 |
| 2013 | EJ Manuel, Buff. | 59% | 1,972 | 11 | 9 | 77.7 |
| 2014 | Derek Carr, Oak. | 58% | 3,270 | 21 | 12 | 76.6 |
| 2012 | Andrew Luck, Ind. | 54% | 4,374 | 23 | 18 | 76.5 |
| 2010 | Sam Bradford, St.L. | 60% | 3,512 | 18 | 15 | 76.5 |
| 2012 | Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 58% | 3,294 | 12 | 13 | 76.1 |
| 2010 | Colt McCoy, Clev. | 61% | 1,576 | 6 | 9 | 74.5 |
| 2012 | Brandon Weeden, Clev. | 57% | 3,385 | 14 | 17 | 72.6 |
| 2011 | Christian Ponder, Minn. | 54% | 1,853 | 13 | 13 | 70.1 |
| 2014 | Blake Bortles, Jac. | 59% | 2,908 | 11 | 17 | 69.5 |
| 2013 | Geno Smith, NYJ | 56% | 3,046 | 12 | 21 | 66.5 |
| 2011 | Blaine Gabbert, Jac. | 51% | 2,214 | 12 | 11 | 65.4 |
| 2016 | Jared Goff, L.A. | 55% | 1,089 | 5 | 7 | 63.6 |
| 2009 | Mark Sanchez, NYJ | 54% | 2,444 | 12 | 20 | 63.0 |
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford, Det. | 53% | 2,267 | 13 | 20 | 61.0 |
| 2004 | Eli Manning, NYG | 48% | 1,043 | 6 | 9 | 55.4 |
| 2005 | Alex Smith, S.F. | 51% | 875 | 1 | 11 | 40.8 |
In 2014, the Bucs made the mistake of instead going with Josh McCown at quarterback. Glennon started only five games, completing 58 percent of his passes, with 10 TDs and 6 interceptions. Then they drafted Winston.
So that’s where we’re at. Glennon has had some success on the field, and he’s also been in the league and working on his game for four years. That could make him a good bridge quarterback. If a team was planning on selecting Mitchell Trubisky or DeShaun Watson, Glennon could give them the luxury of giving the youngster some time to develop. And there could be a team out there that’s comfortable handing Glennon the keys, giving him a chance to maybe develop into a decent starter.
Glennon is kind of the mystery behind door No. 2. He hasn’t proven he can do it. But the vast majority of teams would strongly prefer him over the quarterbacking that six different teams had last year (Jets, Browns, Texans, Bears, Rams and 49ers). Jacksonville isn’t giving up on Blake Bortles yet, but he didn’t make enough progress last year – he regressed. And in Arizona, Carson Palmer is right at the end of the road.
Quarterbacks are the most coveted resource in the game, and Glennon is in the right place at the right time.
—Ian Allan