NFLRT 8/3/2024

The questions and discussion…  

Various NFL teams have interesting unsettled QB situations that will probably make for interesting pre-season camps… with that in NFLRT will look at some of those situations…

1) The Steelers landed Russell Wilson for a league-minimum $1.21 million after he was cut by the Broncos with a guaranteed $39 million left on his contract… the Broncos will be paying the other $37.79 million. They also acquired Justin Fields for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick and then declined his 2025 fifth-year option. In effect these two moves by the Steelers have Wilson and Fields on the team’s roster in one-year, prove-it situations.

Coming out of pre-season which one of these two players will be the QB under center in game one of the regular seson?

According to recent scuttlebutt seen online, the Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is saying Russell Wilson is the team’s QB1 over Justin Fields.

In all likelihood Wilson’s experience in leading a team… 12-year mostly all-star career with 188 regular season games under the belt as well as nearly a full season worth of playoff games, including back-to-back Super Bowls in 2013-14 and one championship… versus Fields minimal experience… 10-28 as a starter in Chicago… led Tomlin to make that assessment at this point in the upcoming NFL season.

And I see no reason to doubt Tomlin’s answer, or the implied logic in his coming to that answer, to anyone who asks, “Who is the Steeler’s starting QB?”

Yes, Fields can help himself with a strong preseason. And he will probably play most of the snaps in pre-season scrimmages as the Steelers will likely limit Wilson’s play due to an overabundance of caution in keeping him injury free heading into the regular season. But Fields would really have to shine/excel… open up a lot of coaching eyes… and Wilson would really have to suck when he was on the field… and I mean really, really suck… before Fields gets to start for the Steelers in Game 1 of the regular NFL season.

Russell Wilson will start under center for the Steelers in Game 1 of the 2024/25 season.

2)  The Las Vegas Raiders selected Aidan O’Connell with a 4^th round pick in 2023. While O’Connell did start 10 games for the Raiders last season, he didn’t exactly set the world on fire with his play under center while posting a 40.5 QBR and throwing 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions in his rookie season.

Gardener Minshew is now a sixth-year veteran who’s is with his fourth NFL team. Last seson he started 13 games for the Colts last season and while he did have the Colts in playoff contention up until the final game of the regular season he also didn’t have a great statistical season as he put up a 59.6 QBR, with 15 touchdown passes and 9 INTs.

Which player wins the starting QB role for the Raiders when the regular season begins? Why?

Aidan O’Connell wins the starting role with Gardner Minshew ready to step in when needed either due to an injury or because a change to save a season is necessary.  

Las Vegas goes with the second-year quarterback while having veteran insurance behind him.

Basically the Raiders know what they have in Minshew… a 5-year mixed bag NFL career…and it would be prudent on their part to find what they actually do have in O’Connell.  

The  6-foot-3 and 210-pound 25 year old O’Connell right now has the look of a game manager… coming out and lighting things up and being an All-Pro in Year 2… similar to “… the 2022 version of Brock Purdy as a QB someone who takes care of the football, operates the system well and makes good decisions but isn’t necessarily a game-changer.”

Which is not the worst thing the Raiders need under center for the upcoming season. And in the 11 games he has played (10 starts), O’Connell wasn’t like a lost cause and actually played relatively well for a mid-round rookie thrust into game action…. 5-5 as starter while going 213 of 343 passing (62% completion rate) for 2,218 yards and 12 touchdowns versus seven interceptions.

Again, it would be prudent for the Raiders actually understand what they have in O’Connell going forward… serviceable game manager or game changer. The answer will determine the Las Vegas Raiders long-term outlook at the all-important position of QB.

How O’Connell performs this season will determine whether the Raiders use an early-round draft pick on a quarterback next April or maybe go ink another free agent QB next March. Because sooner rather than later the Raiders will need a QB who can have those game-altering moments because after all the Raiders do reside in the AFC West that’s home to the best quarterback in the league (who plays for the defending Super Bowl champions) who has those moments all the damn time.

To do all, the Raiders need to give O’Connell all the opportunities to prove… or disprove… himself.

O’Connell starts for the Raiders in Game 1 of the regular season.  

3) The Broncos also appear to have an open competition for their QB1 role between three QBs in camp at this time.

After the Broncos benched Russell Wilson last season Jarrett Stidham finished last season as the starter. Zach Wilson, who was the Jets 2021 No. 2 overall pick and who never showed much with his time as a Jet, was acquired for a sixth-round pick.  And then in this year’s draft the Broncos used the 12th overall pick to select Bo Nix.

Who starts under center in game one of the regular season for the Broncos? Why?

Up front I just do not see ex-Jet QB Zach Wilson starting for the Broncos in Game 1 of the regular except in the case Nix and Stidham are unable to perform for whatever reason.

With that out of the way…

The Broncos quest for a starting QB this season will be an open competition between rookie Bo Nix and “veteran” (16 games/ 4 as a starter) Jarrett Stidham.

Whichever guy gives HC Sean Payton the most reasons to pick him as the starting QB will win the job.

I’m leaning to Bo Nix.

4) It is no secret that the Kansas City Chiefs have had an unsettled and a mixed bag of results at the wide receiver position which in turn has led to tight end Travis Kelce taking on more of the role as the featured receiver which is not the best situation for both Kelce and the team.  

Have the Chiefs done enough this off-season to answer/fix their question marks at the wide receiver position this off-season? Why or why not?

Tom Brady and another TE did quite well together but then again Brady did have his fair share of star wide receivers to play with, too.

Mahomes to further add to his already overflowing Hall of Fame resume needs the same “luxury.”

I don’t think going into the season with the goal of three-peating and Kelce being Mahome’s number one receiver will be the best way for Mahomes and the Chiefs to accomplish, or even have a shot at accomplishing, their goal. The Chiefs need a wide out who can be the other guy that Mahomes wants to go to when he needs someone to be that guy besides Travis Kelce.

Did they fix their wide receiver situation or not?

The Chiefs added Marquise Brown as a free agent and then took Xavier Worthy (who by all indications has the tools to be a good, if not great, wideout) in the first round of the draft to help a position group that last season was a major disappointment.

Brown is three seasons removed from his best NFL season when he had 91 catches, 1,008 yards for the Ravens in 2021). In his last two seasons he saw sort of limited action… 12 games/2022 and 14 games/2023… and have 67 catches/709 yards and 51 catches/ 574 yards respectively.

Worthy is a rookie.

They do have Rashee Rice (79 catches/938 yards) was the team’s best wide receiver as a rookie last season by a wide margin, but he could face a suspension stemming from his involvement in a high-speed car crash during the offseason.

The other guys in camp… Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore… had underwhelming seasons at best, to be nice about it, last year and will need to some ways before stepping back into being either the number 1 or 2option for Mahomes this season.  

In my opinion, the Chiefs wide receiver room and who are the top two options, besides Kelce, for Mahomes is a work in progress.  

The Chiefs get an “Incomplete” from me right now.   

5) The Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa have agreed to a four-year, $212.4 million deal with the Dolphins that includes $167 million guaranteed, which is the richest contract in franchise history, and the guaranteed money involved is at this time the eighth most among NFL quarterbacks.

Will the Dolphins live to regret or love this deal over the course of the contract? Why?

All in all, the dolphins  did the right thing by giving Tua Tagovailoa a contract extension. Tua, despite some kind of  and sometimes controversial moments, is a 26-year old QB, who has legitimate MVP potential in 2024, leading an up and coming offense in Miami.  

Yes, people will say…  Tua’s gets injured… he’s a system quarterback…  his arm isn’t strong enough… he can’t beat the good teams.. blah, blah, blah…  

And yes, Tua is getting paid a lot… but the Dolphins didn’t get crazy here either.

They are getting a guy who at the age of 25, led the league in passing yards, took the team to the postseason and made his first Pro Bowl. Yeah, the Dolphins, and Tua, had an ugly finish to the season that was coupled with the Bills coming on like gangbusters, but Tua was a legitimate MVP campaign three-quarters into the season. 

I fully expect especially with an improved Dolphins’ offense, Tua to be in the conversation for MVP considerations in 2024.

In the end, this was a reasonable deal for both player and team.