There are starting jobs to be had with the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Jets and Steelers. Another team or two could jump into the mix, perhaps including the Indianapolis Colts if they’re not comfortable with Anthony Richardson as their unquestioned starter. The issue is determining which quarterback to pair with which team.
“It’s a big guessing game to figure out how it will all fit together,” a high-ranking official with one NFL team said last week at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.
The first significant development on this offseason’s quarterback market was a would-be blockbuster trade that didn’t happen. The Los Angeles Rams reached an agreement with Matthew Stafford on a revised contract to retain him. That was after the Rams granted Stafford and his agent permission to speak to other teams. Las Vegas Raiders part-owner Tom Brady reportedly met with Stafford at a Montana ski resort. The Giants likewise seemed eager to try to trade for Stafford. Rodgers was mentioned as a possible replacement for him with the Rams. But it became a nonevent when Stafford and the Rams struck their deal.
That left Rodgers without an obvious next team while the Giants and, for then, the Raiders remained in the market for quarterbacks. It would be the third team in four years for Rodgers, the four-time league MVP for the Green Bay Packers who spent two tumultuous seasons with the Jets marked by injury, controversy and disappointment. His Hall of Fame ticket was punched long ago and, at age 41, he could retire. But he seems interested in playing on, given that he reportedly traveled to New Jersey to meet with Jets officials before being told that the team planned to move on.
The Steelers and Giants could be among the possible landing spots. The Giants are starting over at quarterback after benching and then releasing Jones last season. They have the No. 3 overall pick in April’s NFL draft and could be in position — or could trade up into position — to take Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. But few around the league would be surprised if the Giants add both a veteran and a prized rookie.
“We’re going to look at vets,” Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said at the scouting combine. “We’re going to look at the draft. We’re going to look at trade candidates. We’re going to look under every rock to find the best prospects for us going into the ’25 season.”
The Steelers reached the playoffs after adding both Wilson and Fields last offseason. Wilson was coming off a tempestuous two-year stay with the Denver Broncos and was available for a minimum-salary contract after being released. Fields was traded by the Chicago Bears as they prepared to use the top overall selection in last year’s draft on Caleb Williams.
The results were mixed. Coach Mike Tomlin made a bold starting-quarterback switch from Fields to Wilson six games into the season, even with the team at 4-2. That looked brilliant when the Steelers were 10-3 and leading the AFC North. But they lost their final four games of the regular season and were ousted from the opening round of the playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.
“It’s been one of the best years for me personally to be a Pittsburgh Steeler,” Wilson said in Baltimore on the night of the postseason defeat. “Obviously I hope I’m here.”
But that’s far from certain, with both Wilson and Fields eligible for unrestricted free agency.
“I’d say ideally we’d like to keep one of the guys that we had with us last year,” Steelers General Manager Omar Khan said during combine week. “But we don’t have anyone under contract. So until that happens, all options are on the table.”
Some observers had suspected that Wilson might reunite with Pete Carroll, who returned to the NFL when the Raiders hired him as their coach after a year out of the league. They spent 10 seasons together in Seattle in which Wilson was selected to nine Pro Bowls and helped the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title. But that option may have dissipated when the Raiders agreed Friday to trade a third-round draft pick to the Seahawks for Geno Smith. The move eliminated an opening in Las Vegas but created one in Seattle.
Darnold had a mostly superb season for the Vikings after being signed to a one-year, $10 million contract in free agency last offseason following Cousins’s departure for the Falcons. He helped the Vikings to a 14-3 regular season record and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. He struggled in losses to the Detroit Lions to end the regular season and to the Rams in the opening round of the playoffs. But he still could be in line for a significant payday.
The Vikings declined to use their franchise-player tag on Darnold but still could attempt to re-sign him. They have exclusive negotiating rights with him, under NFL rules, until Monday, when the league’s two-day negotiating window opens for free agents such as Darnold, Wilson, Fields and Jones to line up deals with other teams, solely through their agents. Those deals cannot be formalized until Wednesday, when trades also can become official.
If Darnold leaves, the Vikings could turn to J.J. McCarthy, their first-round draft choice last year who missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury suffered during a preseason game. He would be the last of the six quarterbacks chosen in the draft’s first 12 picks last year to become his team’s starter. The Falcons made the move to Michael Penix Jr., drafted two spots ahead of McCarthy at No. 8 overall, as their starter late last season, less than one full season into Cousins’s four-year, $180 million contract.
The Falcons have maintained that they could retain Cousins as Penix’s backup. But that might be awkward, and many expect Cousins to be elsewhere. The Browns may be a candidate. Their coach, Kevin Stefanski, worked with Cousins in Minnesota as the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. The Browns have the second pick in the draft and essentially have a clean slate at quarterback, with Deshaun Watson expected to miss much to all of next season after suffering a second rupture of the Achilles’ tendon in his right leg.
Cousins and Rodgers have been linked in the past to the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers is a Northern California native. Cousins played for Niners Coach Kyle Shanahan in Washington when Shanahan was an assistant coach. But the 49ers have Brock Purdy, who is eligible for a contract extension this offseason following his third NFL season.
The Titans have the draft’s No. 1 choice but won’t necessarily use it on a quarterback, with the additional options of trading the pick or using it on Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter or Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter. The Jets ended their inglorious Rodgers era after hiring Aaron Glenn as their coach and Darren Mougey as their general manager. Now they must get their quarterback.
“We’re going to exhaust all options,” Mougey said in Indianapolis. “Obviously there’s a lot of intriguing prospects here this week at the combine. We’ll dive into that. Some in free agency. And we’ll keep all options open at quarterback and, really, every position on the team.”