MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

10-6 and playoffs. MINSHEW MAGIC

 

Bears coach Matt Nagy won't announce starting QB before opener vs. Lions

The Chicago Bears traded for Nick Foles during free agency to create competition with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback. Their preseason battle won't be settled, at least publicly, until the season opener.

Bears coach Matt Nagy told reporters Saturday he will not announce a starting QB before Chicago's Week 1 game versus the Detroit Lions. That perhaps gives Foles and Trubisky two more weeks to win the job, though local reports have been consistent that the newcomer has outplayed the incumbent and appears to be slightly ahead. Nagy declined to say which quarterback has been better thus far, per ESPN's Jeff Dickerson.

Chicago is merely looking for an upgrade over last season.

The lack of public declaration at this point might be a bit of gamesmanship but also speaks to the uncertainty surrounding the two signal-callers. Trubisky regressed in Year 3, likely costing the 8-8 Bears and their fourth-ranked scoring defense a return trip to the playoffs. Foles, interestingly, wasn't necessarily better during his one-year pit stop in Jacksonville. The former Super Bowl MVP went winless in four starts and, after returning from a shoulder injury, was ultimately benched in favor of rookie Gardner Minshew.

The Bears traded a fourth-round pick to the Jaguars for Foles and quickly restructured his contract, all while declining Trubisky's fifth-year option. While Chicago has a greater financial commitment to the former at this point, how each QB fares on Sundays, should they both play this year, will determine whether either has a future in the Windy City.

Starting the season opener is literally just the beginning.

NFL.com

 

Matt Nagy clarifies, says he’ll announce QB next week



Maybe Bears coach Matt Nagy reconsidered. Or maybe it wasn’t quite the cliffhanger he thought it was.

Either way, Nagy has circled back and said that he would in fact name a starting quarterback next week, after initially saying Saturday it wouldn’t be before their opener against the Lions:

“What I meant by that, to keep it real simple, was that there was not going to be a quarterback named this week that we’re in right now, up until that first week,” Nagy said, via J.J. Stankevitz of NBCSportsChicago.com. “There will be no waiting until the middle of [next] week or the end of the week for that to happen. That wouldn’t be fair to our team and it wouldn’t be fair to the quarterbacks.”

Teams are required to post depth charts by Monday, though there are still plenty of ways to obfuscate once you do that, such as saying the starter would be Nick Foles or Mitchell Trubisky.

Of course, solving that riddle is probably more important to Bears fans than the Lions as they prepare, as Trubisky and Foles aren’t so dissimilar they require different game plans.

NBC

 

Anthony Lynn confirms Tyrod Taylor is Chargers starting QB



After Philip Rivers left as a free agent, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said that Tyrod Taylor was the team’s starting quarterback and he maintained that was the case after the team drafted Justin Herbert in the first round.

Lynn’s tune remains the same after training camp. Lynn said on Wednesday that Taylor will start against the Bengals in Week One.

“Right now, Tyrod Taylor is our starter,” Lynn said, via Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register. “Until someone step up and show that they can run this team that’s the way we’re going in to it. Tyrod Taylor is our starter.”

Herbert will presumably be the next guy to get a chance to show that he can run the offense, although his opportunity to do that will have a lot to do with how well Taylor handles his first starting shot since being replaced by Baker Mayfield in Cleveland early in the 2018 season.

NBC

 

Ron Rivera names Dwayne Haskins starting QB for Washington

Ron Rivera's offseason insistence on running a QB competition ended 11 days before the season kicks off.

The Washington Football Team coach announced Wednesday that Dwayne Haskins is the starter for Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Dwayne's lived up to everything we talked about in January," Rivera said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post.

Since taking over the Washington Football Team in January, Rivera has maintained Haskins must win the starting gig. From pre-draft dalliances with potential rookies during the NFL Scouting Combine, to the trade for Kyle Allen, to the repeated talk of Alex Smith joining a competition, Rivera never allowed Haskins to get comfortable.

Most of the talk -- particularly the insistence that Allen had a shot to unseat Haskins -- seemed a ploy to motivate the second-year quarterback, kick the QB's off-field habits into gear and keep him on edge. It appeared to work, as we've only heard positives about Haskins' work ethic and taking to the new offensive scheme.

As a rookie, Haskins had an up-and-down season. At times his big arm wowed as he fired lasers to Terry McLaurin and he showed steps getting through his progression. At others, he looked lost reading defenses, employed shoddy footwork and took far too many sacks. Washington hopes he's smoothed out most of the bumps heading into Year 2.

Haskins has the talent to be a stellar starting NFL quarterback if he puts the rest of the game together.


The second-year pro proved to the coaching staff he has what it takes to be the starter, even if all talks of Washington making any other decision were simple motivation tactics.

NFL.com

 

Bill Belichick has made a decision on his starting quarterback, and, as expected, Cam Newton has won the job, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe reports.

Belichick told his players during a team meeting Thursday morning.

Newton won a three-way battle with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer.

Newton, 31, is the most accomplished of the trio with Stidham in his second season and Hoyer a journeyman who has started 38 games in 11 seasons with seven teams. Newton has a league MVP and has started a Super Bowl.

Newton spent nine seasons in Carolina before the Panthers released him March 24. He remained on the open market until agreeing to terms on a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Patriots on June 28.

He now faces the tough task of replacing a legend in New England.

Tom Brady, who now is in Tampa, has started the past 60 games for the Patriots dating to his four-game suspension for Deflategate. He missed only 20 games with the Patriots since taking over the starting job in 2001, including 15 games in 2008 after injuring his knee in Week One.

The job, though, now belongs to Newton.

NBC

 

Throughout training camp, the Bears have conducted a quarterback competition. Without an offseason of OTAs, or preseason games against other teams, the normal guideposts for a such a competition are absent.

So it stands to reason that Bears coach Matt Nagy is struggling with the Mitchell Trubisky–Nick Foles conundrum.

“It is not easy,” Nagy said, via JJ Stankevitz of NBCSportsChicago.com. “It’s not clear-cut.”

Players are off today and tomorrow while the team cuts to 53, but the biggest decision they’ll make is who will lead them onto the field next Sunday against the Lions. Either way, Nagy said he was pleased with the way the process unfolded, and cited specific improvements both quarterbacks made during camp.

“Sometimes people say, ‘Well if you have two quarterbacks that means you don’t have any,’” Nagy said. “We know what we have in these guys. We feel really good about both of them.

“Being as brutally honest as I could be, it’s difficult.”

Nagy can only hope that whichever quarterback he picks can make it difficult for other teams as well, and not just his own.

NBC

 

The Dolphins are moving on from Josh Rosen after one season, according to multiple reports.

The team tried to trade him, but when they couldn’t find a taker, they decided to waive Rosen. They still have a few hours to find a trade partner before Rosen officially hits the waiver wire.

Miami traded second- and fifth-round choices for the quarterback after the 2019 draft, but Rosen became expendable after the Dolphins used a first-round choice on Tua Tagovailoa. Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to start the season.

Rosen made three starts for the Dolphins last season, going 0-3, before being benched. He threw for 567 yards with five interceptions and a touchdown.

The Cardinals drafted him with the 10th overall choice in 2018, but he went only 3-10. Arizona traded him to the Dolphins after using the No. 1 overall pick on Kyler Murray in 2019.

Rosen has not gotten much of a chance in either place but maybe a third team will give him more of a chance.

NBC

 

The Bears have made their decision. And the incumbent has fended off the Super Bowl LII MVP.

Per a source with direct knowledge of the decision, Mitch Trubisky will serve as the Bears’ starting quarterback entering the 2020 season.

Trubisky, in the estimation of the coaching staff, stepped up and improved the way the team wanted him to. He has matured a lot, the source explained, and he won a fair and healthy competition between Trubisky and newcomer Nick Foles.

The Bears regard Foles as a valuable asset, both as it relates to helping Trubisky continue to improve and as it relates to being ready to play, if Trubisky is injured — or if he struggles to the point where a change becomes necessary. Foles knows the offense well, which will make it easier for him to get ready to play, if/when that becomes necessary.

For now, though, Trubisky is the guy. Soon, we’ll all find out whether and to what he has improved. With no joint practices, no preseason games, and training-camp reps split down the middle, Trubisky won’t be as prepared as he would have been in a normal year.

The Bears have made the decision now so that Trubisky and Foles can avoid a weekend of added uncertainty as Week One looms. Instead, both can focus on their roles for the opener against the Lions.

NBC

 

Texans agree to four-year extension with Deshaun Watson



While everyone is making cuts, the Texans have just done the biggest business of the day.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans have agreed to a four-year contract extension with quarterback Deshaun Watson.

The deal reportedly averages $39 million a year, with a $27 million signing bonus.

That’s a huge piece of business for the Texans for a number of reasons, but it provides stability in the offseason after they traded away wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

NBC

 

And a different source says Foles easily won the competition but management intervened because it wants to give Trubisky another shot.

 

Thats sounds crazy, lol. Very interesting and quite peculiar.

Short, short leash , no doubt.

 

Buccaneers signing QB Josh Rosen to practice squad

Josh Rosen won't have to go far in order to reach his next destination.

The former Dolphins and Cardinals quarterback plans to join the Buccaneers practice squad, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero reported Sunday, via sources familiar with the transaction. He went unclaimed off waivers earlier in the day.

Rosen was released by Miami on Saturday after unsuccessful attempts to trade him in the days leading up to the cutdown deadline.

Joining Tampa might be the most stable situation Rosen has encountered since being drafted tenth overall in 2018. As both Garafolo and Pelissero noted, this decision was all about fit for the 23 year old, who will have the chance to learn from Tom Brady. Garafolo added that Rosen spoke with teams that had openings on their active roster but, thanks to a roster bonus he earned on the third day of camp, opted to take a chance on himself and learn from a legend.

Pelissero added that the chance to be paired with an offensive-minded head coach in Bruce Arians and an offensive coordinator in Byron Leftwich who believed in him when he came out of UCLA also proved alluring for the young QB.

The selection of Tua Tagovailoa in April all but numbered his days in Miami. In Tampa, Rosen slides in behind Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Kelly, all of whom are above 30. Barring any outlandish circumstances, Rosen should be able to learn out of the spotlight for a change and stay in shape for a possible opportunity elsewhere, should one arise.

NFL.com

 

Dolphins officially name Ryan Fitzpatrick Week 1 starting QB vs. Patriots

The Miami Dolphins made the presumed official.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores officially announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the Week 1 starter against the New England Patriots.

The decision to start the season with FitzMagic under center has been anticipated for months.

The Dolphins will allow first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa time to learn from the sideline before getting his feet wet.

Fitzpatrick's play last year and knowledge of new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's system made it the logical move over a rookie coming off a major injury who didn't have a full preseason to prep.

Like most highly drafted quarterbacks, we'd expect Tua to see the field at some point this season for a still-rebuilding Dolphins squad. When that is depends on how the season unfolds for Miami. With a rough slate of games to open the year -- at New England, vs. Buffalo, at Jacksonville, vs. Seattle, vs. San Francisco, at Denver and facing both L.A. teams -- the Dolphins could ride out the difficult storm before tossing Tua into the fray.

To open the 2020 season, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call a game between Cam Newton and Ryan Fitzpatrick at 1 p.m. ET on CBS this Sunday. Giddy up.

 

Tom Brady is a 16-game season away from the most starts in NFL history



If Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady starts all 16 games this season, he’ll break a little-discussed but quite impressive NFL record.

Brady has started 283 games in his career, putting him 15 games from tying and 16 games from breaking Brett Favre’s all-time NFL record of 298 games started.

Favre’s record isn’t just the record for quarterbacks, but the record for any player at any position. In his final NFL season, Favre broke the previous record of 293 starts, which was set by former Oilers/Titans offensive lineman Bruce Matthews.

On Sunday, Brady will start his 284th career game, which will tie him with Jerry Rice for the third-most starts ever.

After Brady is Jim Marshall, the Vikings great who started 277 games in the 1960s and 1970s. In sixth place all time is Drew Brees, who will start his 275th game against Brady’s Buccaneers on Sunday.

Brady vs. Brees, a game featuring a quarterback starting his 284th game against a quarterback starting his 275th game, is a special moment in NFL history. And this season we get to see it twice.

NBC
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If Tom was a touch better, he'd be HOF material or even in the GOAT conversation.

 

Definitely would have to improve to be first ballet like Roethlisberger

 

i didnt think ogres do ballet

 

My spellcheck created that

 

Huh? He danced his way around a rape indictment.

 

Burn! Well crafted good sir.