The NFL offseason is always an exciting time. Your team can go from one of the worst in the league to getting a very good player, which will distract you from the things that are going on.
This offseason, there could be a tone of quarterbacks moving teams, whether that be through trade or free agency. Getting a new QB always will excite fans, and rightfully so.
If you were on Twitter the other day, ESPN released a list of quarterbacks who could possibly be on the move this offseason. For this paper, I am going to look at each QB and try and predict where each one of them could end up.
Now, I don’t think I’m going to go insanely in-depth with this paper as opposed to the Deshaun Watson and Matthew Stafford papers (I did though, sorry). This should be more about listing five teams and explaining which one I think is the most likely.
Ok? Well, let’s get into this! Starting off with the most likely to move, Deshaun Watson.
Deshaun Watson | 2020 Team; Houston Texans (chance of him staying; 10-20%)
Possible teams
Houston Texans (current)
New York Jets
Miami Dolphins
I have talked a lot about the Deshaun Watson situation, some may say too much. Now, most of you know Deshaun Watson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Dude is easily a top five quarterback and is coming off a career year. You would think it’d be smart to not piss off a quarterback of the caliber, right? Wrong. Wrong! This is the Houston Texans man.
I think it’s obvious that the Jets and Dolphins have the capital to move for a quarterback of Deshaun’s caliber. I honestly don’t think anyone can offer what these two teams can. So, where could he go?
According to recent reports, Deshaun’s top two teams are the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins. Though the Jets are coming off a two win season, the fact they hired former Niners DC, Robert Saleh, is desirable to Deshaun.
Along with Saleh, the Jets have a, seemingly, smart GM in Joe Douglas and a young OC, and brother of Matt LaFluer, in Mike LaFluer.
LaFluer, Mike, comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, following him wherever he has gone, from Atlanta to San Francisco. Now, this will be Mike’s first season as an offensive coordinator, formally being the pass game coordinator in San Fran. He’s in the mold of those young offensive minds that organizations are looking for nowadays.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Texans have almost no leverage in this situation. It seems they have pissed Deshaun Watson so much that he wants absolutely nothing to do with this franchise. That could be important when the trade officially comes in.
Though I feel that the Dolphins would be a better spot for Deshaun in the immediate future, with them already having an established defense, coach, and culture, I now feel he’ll be heading to New Jersey to play for the Jets.
My Pick; New York Jets
Matthew Stafford | 2020 Team; Detroit Lions (chance of him staying; 0%)
Possible Teams
Washington Football Team
Indianapolis Colts
San Francisco 49ers
New England Patriots
Well it is finally going to happen. Matthew Stafford is finally going to leave the Detroit Lions. Good for him. Good for him. Bought time he suited up for a franchise that actually wants to help him, make him happy, and protect him.
In my opinion, the Texans and Lions are very similar. Both have a history in pissing off their star players or, if not that, just not helping them out at all. For that reason, I’ll call the Texans the son of the Lions.
Whether it be the Texans with Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, JJ Watt, or Deshaun Watson and the Lions with Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, and now, Matthew Stafford, these two organizations have been jokes in regards to dealing with their star players.
So, Matthew Stafford will not be a part of the much anticipated Dan Campbell era. Shame. It’s been reported that Stafford and the Lions have agreed to mutually part ways, so, where will he go?
If we’re talking fit, I would have to say the San Francisco 49ers. I just feel Stafford would be perfect for Kyle Shanahan’s offense. But, that means they’d have to find a trade partner for Jimmy Garoppolo, cause I don’t expect him to stay if Stafford comes in.
Another possibility is the Washington Football Team, who should definitely upgrade at the QB position. I love the Alex Smith story, but honestly, he should retire, and if I’m Washington, I try to move for Stafford.
Reminder, the GM that drafted Stafford in Detroit, Martin Mayhew, is now the GM in Washington. Just something to think about.
As far as teams ready to win right now, the Colts would probably be the best option, as they have the best o-line in football and a very talented defense spear headed by DeForest Buckner and Darius Leonard.
These three teams all could be very successful if Stafford were to join them this offseason. I am going to go with the Indianapolis Colts.
Matthew Stafford would be a huge get for the Indianapolis Colts. Much like the recently retired Philip Rivers, Stafford has a history of being the toughest guy on the team. Also, before Rivers retired, HC Frank Reich stated that he wanted Rivers back. Why not get the younger version of Rivers in Matthew Stafford then?
If the Colts want to win now, they have to move for Stafford.
My Pick; Indianapolis Colts (I’m essentially 50-50 on the Colts and Niners)
Sam Darnold | 2020 Team; New York Jets (chance of him staying; 30-50%)
Possible Teams
New York Jets (current)
Washington Football Team
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers
Chicago Bears
New England Patriots
I think Sam Darnold’s time with the Jets is done. After watching him for the past three seasons, I think it’s best for both sides to just move on from each other. It’s best for all parties.
Though the Deshaun Watson and Matthew Stafford trade rumors will dominate the national media, I’m excited to see where Sam Darnold plays football in 2021. Dude has talent, I think, he just needs someone to put that back into him.
The reason I have the likelihood of him staying with New Jersey at 30% and not lower is because there is a tiny chance he could stay. If the Jets trade for Deshaun Watson then we’ll lower that puppy all the way down to zero, and maybe even the negatives.
Honestly, I think the best fit for Sam Darnold is to go to the Indianapolis Colts. Frank Reich has always been a quarterback first guy, of course since he was a QB himself. I think with Reich there, with the Colts o-line and running game, Darnold could re-discover his seemingly endless potential we were promised when he was drafted in 2018.
That being said, if the Colts trade for Matthew Stafford, Darnold to Indianapolis will not happen. If the Colts really want to win now, they would trade for Stafford, who we know is good, versus Sam, who we think could sometime in the future hopefully be good. Make sense?
The other logical place is Houston. With Deshaun seemingly wanting to go to New Jersey, swapping Sam along with picks would make sense for the Texans and the Jets.
That being said, I think the Texans will want as many draft picks as possible. Including Sam in this trade would/could cut down the number of picks Houston would receive by quite a bit.
Now, if Josh McCown somehow gets the Houston job, I could see Sam going there, as McCown was a mentor to Darnold during Darnold’s rookie year with the Jets and it seemed like they had a good relationship.
The Chicago Bears are said to be “big players” in the quarterback market, so maybe Sam could be heading to Chicago. I can only imagine what an offensive genius like Matt Nagy could do with a guy like Darnold. Crazy that Darnold could go from one offensive genius to another in a year.
All that being said, my pick though here for Sam is the Washington Football Team.
The Washington Football Team have a lot of potential moving forward. First off, they have one of the best young defensive lines in football. Second, they have a number one wide receiver in Terry McLaurin and an athletic tight end in Logan Thomas. Third, they have an established culture and a young OC in Scott Turner who could really help in Sam’s development.
The Football Team also have the ninth most cap space for the upcoming season, meaning they can try and splash some cash to help improve the offense even more.
They can add depth at skill positions with wide receivers like Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson, and Kenny Golladay will be available, some decent tight ends, like Hunter Henry, and linemen, such as Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney, will be available, as well as some good veteran QBs to possibly help Sam if Alex Smith does retire, like Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Getting Sam over the likes of someone like Stafford could ultimately help them keep their first round draft pick, meaning they can strengthen the team even more.
The future's looking bright for the football team in our nation's capital. For Sam’s sake, I hope he finds success with a new team, he seems like a nice guy.
My Pick; Washington Football Team
Tua Tagovailoa | 2020 Team; Miami Dolphins (chance of him staying; 80%)
Possible Teams
Miami Dolphins (current)
Houston Texans
I know I made a whole article talking about how Deshaun could be traded to Miami with Tua coming the other way and how the Dolphins coaching staff and players don’t necessarily have 100% faith in him. That being said, if Chris Grier wants him there, guess what? He’ll probably stay there.
It’s kind of crazy how our opinions can change on someone when their team is linked with another QB, i.e. Rosen in Arizona.
I would like to preface this, Tua is not a bad quarterback. Tua had himself a nice rookie year which saw the Dolphins win 10 games with him throwing for 1,800 yards with 11 touchdowns while completing a decent percentage of his passes.
Though it’s noted that Brian Flores wanted Herbert and that the players on the Dolphins were confused by Fitzpatrick’s benching, Tua is still a good quarterback.
It’s obvious the Dolphins have all the toys to get Deshaun over to Miami, but if Houston doesn’t value Tua, I don’t really have another team that could take him off the Dolphins hands.
As I sit here right now, I am starting to think that the most logical and most likely scenario for Tua and the Dolphins next season is that Tua remains in Miami. Especially now since Deshau reportedly wants to go to the Jets.
Though I think the Dolphins would be scarier and better with Deshaun, if the Dolphins can build around Tua with the multitude of picks they have, they will still be a very good team.
My Pick; Miami Dolphins
Jimmy Garoppolo | 2020 Team; San Francisco 49ers (chance of him staying; 65-70%)
Possible Teams
San Francisco 49ers (current)
New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans
Washington Football Team
This may be controversial, but I like Jimmy G. I know there are some people out there that don’t like him as a quarterback and think he’s nothing more than a game manager.
Look, I know he’s limited in his athletic ability and arm strength, but he’s an accurate passer who is very good for the team he is currently on. Just look at the record of the 49ers with and without him, it’s pretty crazy.
Now, do I think he is worth the massive contract San Fran signed him to? No. Dude played eight games and got that contract. That’s not me saying he isn’t a good quarterback though, just not worth the biggest contract in NFL history (at the time).
One thing I will critique Jimmy G on is his injury history, which I know is not a fair thing to criticize him on since he doesn’t control when he gets hurt. But as the old adage goes, the best ability is availability, and that’s what has hurt him in his time in San Fran.
Compared to some of the other quarterbacks San Francisco has been linked to, i.e. Deshaun Watson and Matthew Stafford, he is not as good. The thing is though, they’re not free agents. If the Niners want one of them they’re going to have to try and find a trade for Jimmy G as well, which could make things a little more complicated for all parties.
The most likely landing spots outside of San Fran for Jimmy are the New England Patriots, obviously. As Bill Belichick didn’t want to trade him away in the first place. The next one is Indy, who were apparently in talks of trading for Jimmy G last offseason before they traded for DeForest Buckner. Finally, Houston is possible because of the Patriots links in the front office. That being said, I’m going to keep him in San Francisco.
Again, if we look at the Niners record with and without him, it’s pretty crazy. Going 22-8 with him, while going to a Super Bowl, and while going 7-27 without him. That’s pretty ridiculous if you ask me.
I know Jimmy G may not be the best QB for the Kyle Shanahan system, but they’re winning with him. If he can stay healthy, why would they move on from him? I think Jimmy G will be returning to San Francisco (Santa Clara) next season.
My Pick; San Francisco 49ers
Carson Wentz | 2020 Team; Philadelphia Eagles (chance of him staying; 80-90%)
Possible Teams
Philadelphia Eagles (current)
Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots
Last season, Carson Wentz was one of the, if not the, worst quarterbacks in the NFL, throwing a league high 15 interceptions while only playing in 12 games. Unless I’m doing the math wrong (which there is a massive chance), he averaged just over an interception a game (1.25). That’s pretty crazy.
The thing that is saving him this offseason is the fact that the Eagles gave a lot of money to him to be their franchise quarterback. Outside of his MVP caliber year in 2017, he’s been the subject of criticism from everywhere.
Last season, Carson Wentz single handedly carried the Eagles into the Playoffs and if it weren’t for him being knocked out, he could’ve led the Eagles over the Seahawks. But now, he’s seen as one of the worst in the league. What the hell happened?
One common denominator for Wentz is that in his best season, he had current Indianapolis Colts HC Frank Reich as his OC, prompting people to think he’ll be headed to Indianapolis. And prior to Doug Pederson getting the sack, I thought that’s what would happen too.
Though the Eagles couldn’t hire Frank to be their new head coach, they got the closest thing to him in Nick Sirianni, who has been with Reich when he was with the Chargers and, most recently, with the Colts.
In order to get the best out of Wentz again, the Eagles tried to get a guy that was the closest thing to Reich, which they accomplished.
Though Sirianni is not as sexy a name as Eric Bieniemy or Brian Daboll, he can hopefully provide the Eagles with a solution to their problem, fixing Carson Wentz.
For that reason, I am keeping Carson Wentz in Philadelphia. The front office has been very public in their opinions about him and with Sirianni now there, they can hope they can get back the Carson Wentz of old.
My Pick; Philadelphia Eagles
Matt Ryan | 2020 Team; Atlanta Falcons (chance of him staying; 85-90%)
Possible Teams
Atlanta Falcons (current)
San Francisco 49ers
Chicago Bears
New England Patriots
Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford are very similar in not only skill set, but in careers as well. Though I do believe Ryan has been surrounded by more weapons offensively, their teams, the Lions and Falcons, failed to provide their QBs with even semi-competent defenses.
The problem with the Falcons, ever since Matt Ryan has been there, has never been their offense, it’s their God awful defense. With Ryan, Julio Jones, and Calvin Ridley, the Falcons offense played very well this year, and with Matt Ryan’s age and contract, that makes me feel he’s very likely to remain in Atlanta for the time being.
That being said, I’m not 100% ruling out a trade. There’s obviously going to be links with San Fran because of the Shanahan connection, but I’m going to keep him down south in Atlanta.
Now, the Falcons could very well still draft his eventual replacement, but I still think Ryan will be the unquestioned starter regardless of who they draft.
The Falcons just hired former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to take the reins as the head coach. Which, funny enough, is the first offensive HC they’ve had since Bobby Petrino, though that was very short lived.
I think if the Falcons are smart, they’ll keep what they have going on the offensive side of the ball and basically do what their division rivals in Carolina did last year, only address the defense.
If the Falcons can do that, I feel they could actually come close to their potential.
My Pick; Atlanta Falcons
Aaron Rodgers | 2020 Team; Green Bay Packers (chance of him staying; 90-95%)
Possible Team
Green Bay Packers (current)
San Francisco 49ers
Los Angeles Rams
New England Patriots
Chicago Bears (hey, Favre went to Minnesota)
Aaron Rodgers is one of the most talented quarterbacks we have ever seen in the NFL. His ability to make crazy off balance throws and his ability to not turn the ball over make him an elite talent.
That being said, it’s no secret that Aaron seems unhappy in Green Bay, with it all starting with the drafting of Jordan Love.
After the draft, reports were that the Packers wanted to do the Alex Smith/Patrick Mahomes thing, have Love sit and watch then take over for Aaron the next season. There’s a couple issues with that though.
The first issue, if you want to call it that, is that Aaron Rodgers is the 2020 NFL MVP. You don’t ever see MVPs getting traded the season after they won the MVP, that just doesn’t happen.
Another big issue, this is the bigger one in my opinion, is the fact that I don’t think Jordan Love dressed for one game this season. Now, I could be wrong in that, but I do not think he suited up once.
The fact that he couldn’t beat out Tim Boyle for the back-up spot, and no disrespect to Boyle, is very telling. This team traded up to get you, and you can’t beat out an undrafted QB from Eastern Kentucky?
Now, Boyle is a free agent this offseason, so maybe this is the year we finally see Jordan Love dress for the team that TRADED UP to get him. Or, we could be seeing Jordan Love get traded this offseason…(probably not but maybe)
All of that being said, I think it would be stupid for the Packers to go back to their previous plan of Smith/Mahomes, cause Alex Smith never sniffed an MVP while in Kansas City let alone win the friggin thing.
To say I’d be shocked if Rodgers was traded this offseason would be an understatement. I fully expect A-Rod to be the quarterback in Green Bay next season.
My Pick; Green Bay Packers
Jared Goff | 2020 Team; Los Angeles Rams (chance of him staying; 70-75%)
Possible Teams
Los Angeles Rams (current)
Washington Football Team
New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
(These are just random teams, I have no idea where he could go if he were to leave LA)
This is one of the more recent rumors swirling around the NFL, so much so that I edited this paper the day this was supposed to be released. This is certainly one of the more interesting rumors this offseason.
A few years ago, the recently moved Rams drafted Jared Goff with the number one overall pick. A year later, they went 11-5 and the next year they went 13-3 and got to a Super Bowl. A year after that, the Rams signed Goff to a massive four-year $134 million contract, with $110 guaranteed. Everything seemed to be going up for the Rams and Goff. It seems that may have all changed.
Ever since that Super Bowl year, you could see the relationship between Goff and HC Sean McVay has started the way a little bit. The two years since the Super Bowl the Rams have gone 9-7 and 10-6, only making the Playoffs once out of those two years.
The year after the Super Bowl, Goff led the league in pass attempts. In both years since the Super Bowl his touchdowns went down from 32 to 22 and 20 and the interception numbers have gone up from 12 the Super Bowl year to 16 and 13 the next two years.
It’s obvious Goff has his flaws, but he is an impressive thrower of the football, at times. Sometimes he makes a throw that not a lot of quarterbacks can make, then the next he throws a God awful interception.
Now, I do think Goff impressed some people with his toughness in the Playoffs, but could that have hurt the Rams in those games? I mean, Goff did complete a nice percentage of passes and no pics but they were checking down quite a bit since he had a broken friggin thumb on his throwing hand.
If you listen to recent reports, Rams GM Les Snead has come out and said, “Jared Goff is a Ram in this moment.” Not completely ruling out a possible trade, while also not ruling out him staying either.
Snead also said, “Moving on from Jared Goff, the money we've invested, that isn't easy to overcome ... (but) anything can be done in a cap-based system.” It seems they’re trying to convince us Goff is done in LA.
I don’t know where Goff would be traded, but I have a pretty decent idea of who the Rams want, and that is the (presumptive) NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. But would the Packers take Goff in return? I don’t know, especially with Jordan Love being there.
If the Rams were to trade Goff, who has $43.325 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, I don’t know where he’ll go. For that reason, I’m going to keep him in LA. That being said, I won’t be surprised if he is traded this offseason.
The Rams have an elite defense and talent on offense, if they feel they can upgrade on Jared Goff to get the best out of this team they should probably do it.
My Pick; Los Angeles Rams (I think he could be traded eventually, but probably not this offseason)
For this paper, I just wanted to go over some of the quarterbacks in the NFL that are linked with trades. I don’t really want to go over every single quarterback that could be moving this offseason, so, I’ll just present ya with a list of what each teams QB situation could look like for the 2021 season;
AFC North
Baltimore; Lamar Jackson
Cincinnati; Joe Burrow
Cleveland; Baker Mayfield
Pittsburgh; Ben Roethlisberger
AFC South
Houston; Zach Wilson (R)
Though I rank Justin Fields above Zach Wilson, I could see Houston being a team that takes the BYU quarterback with the Jets pick. He’s got a live arm and is very athletic. Again, I could see Houston taking him.
Indianapolis; Mathew Stafford (T)
Jacksonville; Trevor Lawrence (R)
This dude is going number one, simple.
Tennessee; Ryan Tannehill
AFC East
Buffalo; Josh Allen
Miami; Tua Tagovailoa
New England; Mac Jones (R)/Ryan Fitzpatrick (FA)
Mac Jones is a similar mold to Tom Brady. Could Bill see another Brady in Jones? I think he could. The Saban connection is important here too.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has played for every AFC East team except one, I think that changes this offseason. I feel he'd be a great mentor for Mac Jones.
New York; Deshaun Watson (T)
AFC West
Denver; Drew Lock/Andy Dalton (FA)
The Broncos don’t move on from Lock but provide him with some intense competition from a good NFL vet.
Kansas City; Patrick Mahomes
Las Vegas; Derek Carr
Los Angeles; Justin Herbert
NFC North
Chicago; Nick Foles/Kyle Trask (R)
If this happens, the Bears would have the biggest QB room in the league. I really like Trask and though he’s not insanely mobile, he’s got a very strong arm that could cut through the Chicago wind. With Trask being out of the Senior Bowl and with his lack luster finish to the season, the Bears could get lucky and snag him in the second round.
Detroit; Justin Fields (R)/Tyrod Taylor (FA)
Justin Fields seems like that tough guy Dan Campbell was preaching about in his press conference. Fields broke his ribs and continued to torch Clemson. That’s the kind of player Campbell wants.
Anthony Lynn is the OC, In think it’s guaranteed Tyrod will follow
Green Bay; Aaron Rodgers
Minnesota; Kirk Cousins
NFC South
Atlanta; Matt Ryan
Carolina; Teddy Bridgewater/Trey Lance (R)
Trey Lance and Carolina just makes sense to me. A back field with him and McCaffrey would be very fun.
New Orleans; Jameis Winston (FA)/Taysom Hill
I think Jameis resigns in New Orleans and the Saints run the two QB system with him and Hill.
Tampa Bay; Tom Brady
NFC East
Dallas; Dak Prescott (FA)
Dak will more than likely be franchise tagged this offseason.
New York; Daniel Jones
Philadelphia; Carson Wentz/Jalen Hurts
Washington; Sam Darnold (T)/Alex Smith (?)
If Alex Smith doesn’t retire, I feel he could be the perfect mentor for Sam Darnold.
NFC West
Arizona; Kyler Murray
Los Angeles; Jared Goff
San Francisco; Jimmy Garoppolo
Seattle; Russell Wilson
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