There's a lot of discussion involving quarterbacks who may or will be available in the coming weeks. I wanted to do a quick rundown of the teams who are in the market, and the most notable available passers.
There are a lot, and it happens every year, but it seems like more than usual this year. And for our purposes, I'm going to just assume that the Raiders will be drafting Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall and probably making him a Week 1 starter. (If they sign a veteran stopgap, it will be a bottom-of-the-barrel type.) Or maybe Geno Smith, in the event they keep him around, but I think we can define him as a bottom-of-the-barrel veteran stopgap.
Here are the teams who either may or will be looking for another quarterback.
Arizona. It's a given that Kyler Murray is gone. Less certain is what they'll do with Jacoby Brissett, who's under contract for one more season. I saw a story mentioning him as a possible trade target for a team like the Jets or Falcons. But...I don't know why the Cardinals wouldn't just keep him around. He produced at a high level for them, setting aside trivial details like wins and losses. If they draft someone, it won't necessarily be a guy they can start right away. In any case, I don't think Arizona will be going after a veteran stopgap when they've already got one.
Atlanta. Kirk Cousins will reportedly be released. Michael Penix was iffy as a starter this year and tore his ACL in November. And it's a new regime: GM, head coach. No loyalty to what's gone before. Atlanta doesn't have a first-round pick, thanks to last year's trade-up for James Pearce, who you've probably heard is in significant legal trouble (an NFL suspension is the least of his worries at the moment). Atlanta will likely be adding someone.
Cleveland. The Browns have a couple of second-year passers and Deshaun Watson. They have a new head coach in Todd Monken who may have little desire to start any of those options. It feels like he'll have some say in what the team does at quarterback, which might involve bringing in someone new. Problem is that any capable quarterback with multiple options might reasonably pick any other one over the Browns. But realistically Cleveland will at least be kicking the tires on possibilities, as always.
Indianapolis. The Colts would like to bring back Daniel Jones. But Jones will have other suitors (maybe he enjoyed his time with Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings), and he's coming off an Achilles injury. The Colts will probably make Jones the priority, but they may need a Plan B. This is a roster looking to contend now, so they're going to be after a veteran.
Miami. The Tua Tagovailoa era is almost certainly over. I've heard Kirk Cousins mentioned, but maybe the Dolphins would like something more than an immobile pocket passer with a questionable arm whose primary difference from Tua is that he's older. They'll be bringing in someone.
Minnesota. Sure seems like the J.J. McCarthy era is gonna be short. I don't really think the Vikings would bring back Cousins, but who knows what O'Connell has in mind. If the Vikings want to avoid a last-place finish in the NFC North, they'll be adding someone else.
N.Y. Jets. It's hard to discuss the Jets with a straight face. It's also hard to fathom any of their current in-house options being their Week 1 starters. Tyrod Taylor is a free agent; if you were a free agent, how high would the Jets rank on your list of possibilities? They're probably going to draft someone, assuming they can come up with someone they think is worth where they're picking.
Pittsburgh. Recent reports have Aaron Rodgers possibly or probably returning to the Steelers. It makes a lot of sense, with him having played for new coach Mike McCarthy for some years and McCarthy probably loving the idea of a capable veteran quarterback who will make his own decisions, enabling McCarthy to just stand around collecting a paycheck. OK, I'm being a little critical of the guy. But Pittsburgh might at the very least be looking to draft someone highly, given that Rodgers is currently 42 years old.
Think that's everyone. Running through the list of available veterans who might actually be Week 1 starters, we've got Cousins, Tagovailoa, Daniel Jones, Rodgers, Brissett, Tyrod and maybe someone I'm forgetting. There are some veterans under contract (most notably, Mac Jones) who teams will be hoping to trade for. (49ers say they want to keep Jones, but we'll see.)
What can be stated for sure is these teams really need a quarterback. Table below shows passing yards per game for each team last year. I've bolded nine teams: the eight mentioned above, and the Raiders. Three of the nine are at the very bottom, and four of the remaining six are also in the bottom 12. Only the Colts and Cardinals finished in the top 20 in passing yards (and part of why I think the Colts will be keeping Jones and the Cardinals at least might be sticking with Brissett).
| PASSING YARDS PER GAME, 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Team | Yards |
| Dallas | 279 |
| LA Rams | 277 |
| Detroit | 269 |
| New England | 262 |
| Arizona | 256 |
| San Francisco | 254 |
| Cincinnati | 250 |
| Indianapolis | 240 |
| Seattle | 239 |
| New Orleans | 237 |
| Jacksonville | 237 |
| Chicago | 235 |
| Buffalo | 234 |
| Houston | 233 |
| LA Chargers | 233 |
| Kansas City | 232 |
| Denver | 231 |
| Green Bay | 226 |
| Tampa Bay | 221 |
| NY Giants | 218 |
| Atlanta | 218 |
| Pittsburgh | 214 |
| Philadelphia | 206 |
| Washington | 196 |
| Miami | 195 |
| Las Vegas | 195 |
| Carolina | 194 |
| Baltimore | 193 |
| Tennessee | 191 |
| Minnesota | 189 |
| Cleveland | 185 |
| NY Jets | 164 |
Will be interesting over the next month to see how it all plays out.
