During the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were focused on becoming the team to raise the Lombardi Trophy. For all the other 30 teams in the NFL, their sights were already set on improving their rosters and potentially being one of the two teams to play in next year’s Super Bowl LVI. A couple weeks ago, in a trade that shocked sports fans, The Detroit Lions sent Matthew Stafford to the LA Rams in return for Jared Goff, two future first round picks, and a future third rounder. This trade is only the beginning of what will be a Black Friday Sale for quarterbacks this offseason, just without the lowered prices. 

There are question marks for a multitude of teams this upcoming season as to who the starter at the quarterback position will be. A storyline that has been looked at from under a magnifying glass this past season was whether or not Carson Wentz would have competition for the starting role in Philly. Unfortunately, Carson Wentz’s situation with Doug Pederson and the Eagles caught fire and the 2016 2nd overall pick is likely going to be traded to a team with a less competitive quarterback room. It came to my attention that Philly, a day after Super Bowl LV, pitched a trade to the LA Rams, something like Carson Wentz for a Matthew Stafford “package,” according to Larry Brown Sports. Wentz to another team listed below is more foreseeable.

There are a number of teams looking to upgrade at the most important position in football. The Colts, 49ers, Bears, Washington, Patriots, Texans, and Jets are just a handful of teams whose starting quarterbacks’ futures are in jeopardy. 

Over in Indy, Philip Rivers has announced his retirement, leaving Jacoby Brissett as the best option at QB for the Colts. However, the Colts just need a few more pieces to be a playoff competitor in the AFC and will probably look to find a more dependable option. A rumor came about surrounding former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck returning to the turf. Unfortunately for Colts fans, the speculation was shot down. On February 6th, Colts reporter Jim Irsay announced that Andrew Luck, “Is more retired than he was a year ago.” Irsay concluded, “He [Luck] definitely is retired and there’s no wiggle room or anything, as much as people would like to hear that.”

The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl last year as a result of a dominant 2019-2020 campaign. In that game, Jimmy Garoppolo showed that he was simply not enough to win San Fran a Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan’s win-now mindset could mean that Jimmy G’s time in San Francisco is limited and that the 49ers organization will not be hesitant to find an upgrade. Shanahan’s philosophy has already resulted in San Francisco signing former 10th overall pick Josh Rosen on a one-year deal. With all the talent on the niners, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 49ers’ front office takes another shot at a quarterback who could lead them to become the NFC West Champions once again.

Well the Bears took Mitchell Trubisky before Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Everyone knows how Mahomes and Watson turned out. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for Trubisky. While showing flashes of potential, the 2nd overall pick in 2017 has never really panned out. The environment in Chicago has turned sour, and the Bear’s best offensive weapon, Allen Robinson, wants out of The Windy City. This leaves Trubisky without a trustworthy #1 receiver. Mitchell’s future in Chicago looks bleak, and the front office might want to ship Trubisky off for draft capital. 

The Washington Football Team made it to the playoffs. The standout player of Washington’s wildcard game against the Bucs was clearly Taylor Heinicke. Heinicke, as of February 10th, signed a 2-year deal to stay in Washington. If he looks good in the offseason workouts, Alex Smith’s time in Washington may be up sooner than expected. The comeback player of the year could be a cheap band-aid for teams with worse options at QB. 

The Patriots had a down year. With Cam Newton undermining expectations, the Patriots could make an offer for a low risk quarterback looking for a new home. A Jimmy G homecoming to New England anybody? However, the Patriots could very well take a QB in the first round of the draft this April. It wouldn’t be surprising if Bill Belichick tried going the aggressive route and stunned the world with another steal to fill the Pat’s whole at quarterback. 

Deshaun Watson wants out. It’s obvious that the former Clemson Tiger is not happy in Houston. But the Texans have announced that they are not going to let him go. It is curious that Watson, who has made his opinions about the Texans organization crystal clear, would risk getting traded to a team with less to work with than he already has in Houston. However, Deshaun is still set on departing, and lots of teams would be elated to have him, but any team willing to accept Watson’s pricey contract will also have to send some serious draft capital over to Houston for a trade to be considered.

The Jets have the 2nd pick in the draft this year, and their front office has publicly announced that they’re going to stick with Sam Darnold. At first, I thought this statement brought up two possibilities. Either Darnold would be staying in New York, and will need the Jets to be active in free agency and the draft in order to help him out, or the statement was a lie to settle the media and they would move on from Darnold. I thought the second option would be the smarter decision in the long run, but I didn’t believe the Jets would go back on their revelation. Then it hit me. The Jets could trade their pick away! Whichever team willing to get the 2nd overall pick would have to put some goodies on the table, ideally giving the Jets more draft picks to help out Sam Darnold. If this fantasy of mine were to come true, the Jets could show the league that they actually know what they’re doing. While I am pessimistic that the Jets would pull it off as dramatically as I envisioned. I can’t help but wonder if a big bang in the first round of the draft, by any team wanting an improvement at the quarterback position, is destined to go down come April. 

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/colts-jim-irsay-andrew-luck-comeback-rumors