MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Why am I surprised? Same group of men thought Ben could still play. If we wanted Kirk Cousins we could have just traded for him.

 

Not for a $2.6M cap value...

Kirk Cousins is better than Mitch Trubisky, imho.

 

We'll see.

 

Baker Mayfield just might be the best QB available in this draft..................... for the second time!

 

Honestly, if the Bears give this little of a shit about Fields then they should've just traded him to the Browns. It would've got the Bears a premium pick to not put into their Offense, and it would've saved the Browns 3 1sts, a quarter Bil and the moral fibre of their being.

I mean Fields is doomed to fail anyway with these turds around him in Chicago. Their O will be trash with or without him. If your gonna try and win every game 6-3 at least commit to it lol.

 

Not that close either i'd say, and im no fan of Cousins.

 

So the quarterback movement on day 2 is something that continues to depress Baker's trade value.

If the Seahawks are serious about their confidence in Lock (I have yet to see/hear something that would show the reverse) then the chairs that had to remain empty for Mayfield's value to come back up post-draft now have asses in them.

We now have the answer to this question - How do GMs view Baker Mayfield's real potential?

 

Mike Tomlin: Kenny Pickett “certainly has a chance” to start Week 1



The Steelers took quarterback Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick in the draft and that means the big question on offense in Pittsburgh for the rest of the offseason will be when he takes over the starting job.

During an appearance on NFL Network during the sixth round of the draft, Steelers quarterback Mike Tomlin didn’t throw much cold water on the chance of Pickett being in the lineup right away. Tomlin was asked about the perception that Pickett was the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft and whether that made him a strong contender to beat out Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.


“He certainly has a chance,” Tomlin said. “I agree with that sentiment of his readiness from a professional perspective. It was two things that really attracted us to him from a floor standpoint. We thought he had pro-level anticipation, we thought he had pro-level accuracy. Oftentimes, those are two variables that really require a lot of adjustment from a quarterbacking standpoint. We felt he came ready-made in those ways and hopefully that’s an asset to him in terms of being able to compete and being ready if performance dictates it.”

While there’s general agreement about Pickett’s floor, there are differing opinions about his ceiling. That’s also the case for his competition, however, and his readiness might lead the Steelers to see what he can do right out of the gate.

PFT

 

Pete Carroll: Nothing’s going to change that quick at quarterback



The Seahawks have not taken a quarterback in this year’s draft and head coach Pete Carroll said on Saturday they aren’t going to be adding any players to that position group in the near future either.

Carroll appeared on NFL Network as the draft moved closer to completion and discussed the ongoing competition between Drew Lock, Geno Smith, and Jacob Eason for the quarterback job. Carroll said the team will always look at available players, but that they have no immediate plans to add another player into the mix at this point.


“Nothing’s going to change that quick, no. We’re really happy with the guys we’ve got, see them battle and see what happens down the road,” Carroll said.

Carroll famously said the Seahawks had no intention of trading Russell Wilson shortly before Wilson was shipped to the Broncos in March, so it’s probably wise to wonder if the Seahawks have something else up their sleeve as the current trio continues to go through the offseason program.

PFT

 

Especially when you do nothing!

 

Bears agree to release Nick Foles

The MVP of Super Bowl LII is about to be a free agent, again.

The Bears have agreed to release quarterback Nick Foles. His agent Justin Schulman confirmed the news to Mike Garafolo of NFL Media.


The Bears opted to make the move on in lieu of continuing to search for a trade partner. “[G.M.] Ryan Poles did the classy thing and Nick appreciates it,” Schulman told Garafolo.

Foles earned a $4 million roster bonus on the first day of the 2022 league year. It’s unclear whether he agreed to give up any of that money to secure his release. He also had a non-guaranteed salary of $4 million for 2022.

A third-round pick of the Eagles in 2012, Foles started six games as a rookie and 10 in 2013. Against the Raiders in 2013, Foles tied an all-time single game record with seven touchdown passes. The Eagles traded him to the Rams in early 2015. He struggled there, and he landed in Kansas City the next year. His reunion with Andy Reid, who had drafted him in Philly, didn’t work. After considering retirement, Foles returned to the Eagles as a free agent in 2017. A December ACL tear to starter Carson Wentz opened the door for an incredible late-season run that culminated in a Super Bowl win.

Foles exited Philly again as a free agent in 2019 (after another great playoff run, thanks to a Wentz back injury, that ended in the divisional round), but Foles suffered a broken collarbone in his debut with the Jaguars. He was traded to the Bears in early 2020. He started seven games that year and one in 2021.

Once officially released, he can sign with any team. Options possibly include the Jaguars (given his connection to former Eagles coach Doug Pederson) and the Colts (given his connection to former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich). The backup to Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville is C.J Beathard, and the understudy to Matt Ryan in Indy is Sam Ehlinger.

Another intriguing option would be Tampa Bay, where Tom Brady could avoid shaking Foles’s hand after every game.

PFT

 

Jim Irsay sees Matt Ryan as a mutiyear acquisition



For the sixth consecutive season, and the seventh in eight years, the Colts will have a different opening day starter. Matt Ryan will follow Scott Tolzien, Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz. The Colts traded a third-round choice to the Falcons for Ryan, the 2016 NFL MVP.

Ryan looks like another bridge quarterback for the Colts, considering he turns 37 next month. But that’s not what the team is thinking.


Owner Jim Irsay expects Ryan to remain the Colts’ quarterback for longer than the year Rivers spent in Indianapolis in 2020.

“Matt is different than Philip; this is definitely different than that,” Irsay said, via Mike Wells of ESPN. “It’s not drafting Andrew Luck, but it’s different than Philip. We knew Philip was going to be a one-year sort of thing, and we view this as very possibly a three-year thing. Who knows. It’s hard to put a number on it.”

Can Ryan play that long?

Even two years would buy the Colts some time to find their next franchise quarterback after swinging and missing on Wentz.

“We hope Matt can be here for four years, maybe,” Irsay said. “We certainly have our radar out for a young guy that can be the long-term future.”

The Colts were so eager to get rid of Wentz that the Colts traded him to Washington for less than they paid and without a definitive backup plan. They were left without a starting quarterback for 12 days after trading Wentz to the Commanders.

“Part of the problem going forward was that there weren’t any clear answers when we moved away from Carson,” Irsay said. “That was the biggest dilemma. I really kind of emphasized that it was essential that we look at it that way, the cold, hard reality that we would find answers.”

Ryan is the answer for this season, and the Colts hope, for several seasons.

PFT

 

Titans release Kevin Hogan



The Titans added Malik Willis in the third round of the draft and they made some room for him on the roster by cutting another quarterback on Saturday.

The team announced that they have released Kevin Hogan. That leaves Willis and Logan Woodside behind Ryan Tannehill on the depth chart in Tennessee.

Hogan was a 2016 fifth-round pick by the Chiefs, but failed to make the team as a rookie. He landed with the Browns and appeared in eight games over the next two seasons and made his lone NFL start during the 2017 season. He was 60-of-101 for 621 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions in those appearances.

Hogan moved on to Washington, Denver, and Cincinnati before joining the Titans in 2021. He played in one game and took seven snaps without throwing a pass for the AFC South club.

PFT

 

Titans' Ryan Tannehill 'shocked' by A.J. Brown trade, doesn't think it's his job to mentor Malik Willis

It's been quite a week for Ryan Tannehill.

The quarterback of the Tennessee Titans watched the team trade away his No. 1 receiver, A.J. Brown, then select Brown's replacement in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The next day, Tennessee chose a potential replacement for Tannehill.

With the 86th-overall pick, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis became a Titan, and the clock started ticking on Tannehill's time in Nashville. Well, that's at least the logic with Tennessee's decision to select a QB with a high ceiling and a need for some time to develop.

Don't expect Tannehill to bend over backward to speed up the process for Willis.

"We're competing against each other," Tannehill said of Willis on Tuesday. "We're watching the same tape, we're doing the same drills. I don't think it's my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way then that's a great thing."

Let's not jump to conclusions here: Tannehill isn't giving Willis the cold shoulder. But it's understandable if Tannehill also isn't eager to help Willis take his job.

"I texted Malik right after we drafted him," Tannehill said. "I wasn't informed of that beforehand, but it's the same thing with A.J. right? The team is going to do the best thing that they think is in the best interest of the team. I have no problems with Malik. We're looking to add talent and guys that can help us. We'll add him to the room and go from there."


The move that will resonate more in the immediate future is the trade that sent Brown to Philadelphia. It's an instant upgrade for the Eagles and leaves both a huge void and massive shoes for Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks to fill in Nashville.

It also stunned Tannehill, who has now watched his top two receivers depart in one offseason and will have to spend the next few months getting to know a receiving corps headlined by veteran Robert Woods, Burks, fellow rookie Kyle Philips and returning pass-catcher Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

"I was shocked. When I first found out, I'm like, 'This isn't real, this isn't happening, it's a rumor,'" Tannehill said. "And then, I talked to A.J. and found out it was real. I slept terrible that night and kept thinking it was just a bad dream, but that's where we're at."

As our own Gregg Rosenthal explained, the Brown trade will have a ripple effect that extends well beyond Tennessee. The deal essentially established precedent for receivers playing under rookie deals anticipating big pay days, arming them with a simple stance: You won't be able to afford me, so trade me before we reach the negotiating table.

Tannehill, meanwhile, has no secondary option. The starting quarterback job is still his, but suddenly there's a new figure in his rearview mirror and the persistent ticking of his career clock.

Tannehill couldn't be completely blindsided, at least not when considering how the 2021 season ended. Throwing three interceptions in a Divisional Round loss as the conference's top seed certainly didn't help his standing entering the offseason, nor did it make the arrival of the offseason any easier to bear.

"It's a scar. It's a deep scar," Tannehill said of the loss. "It was a lot of sleepless nights. Every time I closed my eyes I was rewatching the game in my head. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep for weeks and weeks after the game. I was in a dark place and it took me a while and a lot of work to get out of it. It wasn't something that went away easily. It's still a scar that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my life. Just like a cut on your arm, it starts off as a wound, you're able to heal from it and it turns into a scar. It never leaves you, but it's always there and it can remind you.


"Now it's fuel for me. It's fuel for me to work and get ready with a passion and coming into the season with a fire, and a desire to win like I've never had before."

Tannehill will need to fill up his tank before returning to Nashville to start preparations for the 2022 season. He's not about to be pushed out the door, but with just two seasons left on his existing contract (which runs through 2023 and includes void years for 2024 and 2025), he doesn't have the longest leash in the league, either.

It's time to put the disappointment of 2021 and the shock of last week behind him.

"I have the utmost confidence in myself and have everything it takes," Tannehill said. "I will come this year with a fire and a passion and I have to play my best football in January."

NFL.com
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Tannehill doesnt sound happy and I dont blame him, but he's just got to roll with the punches and chin up and go to work with what he has.

 

Giants HC Brian Daboll on what he wants out of Daniel Jones: 'I want him to not be afraid of consequences and pull the trigger'

This is the definition of a make-or-break season for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

Jones' fifth-year option has been declined, he's set to play for his third head coach in four seasons and he needs to show he has what it takes to be Big Blue's franchise QB of the future once and for all.

How does he do that? Well, new Giants head coach Brian Daboll believes Jones needs to be himself and ignore the pressure.

"These first three-and-a-half weeks I've been around him [since the offseason program began], I've been impressed with his work ethic, his leadership when he's with the guys," Daboll said of Jones on WFAN Radio's Tiki and Tierney podcast, via the Giants' team website. "He does a good job in the huddle. I want him to be himself, too. I want him to not be afraid of consequences and pull the trigger and attack and have a positive mindset and continue to grow and learn."

It's a bit of a tough ask considering the pressure on Jones to perform now and all the scrutiny that's come over the past three seasons due to his 36 fumbles and 29 interceptions -- aka, the consequences of not being afraid to pull the trigger and attack.

However, Daboll's rise from Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator to Giants head coach came to be partially due to his work with star quarterback Josh Allen, who had plenty of turnover issues in his rookie year before making a spectacular transition into one of the game's greatest quarterbacks.

Can Daboll do the same with Danny Dimes? That's the hope.


"At the end of the day, he's his own guy," Daboll said. "We have to develop an offense that fits his skillset, which he has plenty of [skills]. He's athletic. He's big. He's got some mobility to him. There's a lot of plays that you say, 'OK, maybe this might look good.' But it's also the surrounding pieces. We weren't the same each year in Buffalo, either. The first year was a lot different than the second year, where we had "Smoke" John Brown and then we added [Stefon] Diggs the next year. So, you continually evolve."

Like Allen, Jones, 24, is a former first-round QB who can be a dual threat when needed. However, Jones has never been able to consistently perform at a stellar level.

He debuted in dazzling fashion as a rookie in 2019, but the hype and phenomenal play subsided. In his 2020 campaign, there were games in which he looked like a one-man band keeping the Giants' fleeting postseason hopes playing along, but it all came crashing down. Now, after three seasons starting in Gotham, Jones is 12-25 as a starter with 8,398 yards passing (221 per game), 45 touchdowns, 29 interceptions, 1000 yards and five touchdowns on the ground and 36 fumbles.

Daboll is tasked with turning Jones into the elite-level QB the franchise hoped he'd become when it spent the No. 6 pick of the 2019 NFL Draft on him.

For that to happen, Daboll believes Jones needs to take charge and he likes what he's seen so far.

"It's fine and dandy when you're standing on the sideline calling plays but you're not the one back there in the huddle and you're not the one pulling the trigger," Daboll said. "So, I think It's a collaborative effort on some of the stuff he likes and continue to help him improve. He's got a great mindset. He's got some good mental toughness about him. We're taking it day by day."

NFL.com

 

Jalen Hurts: It’s my opportunity, it’s my team, I’m ready to go



Whenever Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, General Manager Howie Roseman, or team owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke to reporters in the offseason, they were asked about their commitment to quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The answer from each man was that the team believes Hurts is their guy and their draft-day trade for wide receiver A.J. Brown was further sign that the Eagles are making a push to put as much talent as possible around Hurts this season. During a Wednesday press conference from the team’s facility, Hurts was asked his feelings about the support he’s gotten from the team this offseason.



“It’s understood. It’s my opportunity. It’s my team. It’s pretty much what it is. My team, so I’m ready to go,” Hurts said.

Hurts called it an exciting time to be an Eagle and that the “only direction is to rise” while noting that there’s plenty of work for the team to do to get where they need to be. He said his focus is going to be on consistency that he felt was lacking last year.

Should the team rise in the way Hurts believes they can, there probably won’t be too many questions about the quarterback’s status next year.

PFT

 

I watch NFL network, I listen to NFL Radio and all they talk about is Mayfield and Garoppolo and they are all so far off base with their analysis.

They come up with all these scenarios / excuses and they all gloss over the most obvious reason these guys haven't been traded.

Why would anyone give up even a low draft pick to take on someone else's financial mistake? 24.2M and 18.8M are non-starters. They will not get traded with those deals untouched - unless Cle and SF are the ones giving up the picks.

Everything else is moot.

 

Just gave up the 1.01 in a devy super flex league for him. Hope he is the future.

 

Steelers say concerns about Kenny Pickett’s hand size are erased by watching him play



New Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has famously small hands, but the Steelers say the game tape matters more than the measuring tape.

Outgoing Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert said on #PFTPM that Pickett was “the most prepared coming out” of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft, and that any concerns about his hand size are negated by simply watching how he handled the ball in games.


“Honestly, I never paid attention to that,” Colbert said. “We look at the results. We watch Kenny play in our environment. . . . Can he throw the football? Absolutely. Did he have an excessive fumble rate? No, he didn’t. We just judge it on how he played.”

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made similar comments to Rich Eisen today.

“I potentially was capable of buying into that if I didn’t watch him play college football in Pittsburgh and deal with the elements that come with playing in this environment,” Tomlin said. “So you can buy into the hand size thing or you can just look at how he performed in a variety of conditions, and we have those conditions in Pittsburgh. So there was very little speculation from our perspective about how he might handle the ball in inclement weather, wet days, etc. They played North Carolina on a Thursday night, I went to the game, it was raining pretty good that night and he had no issues.”

The Steelers say Pickett will compete with Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph for the starting job in camp, while seventh-round pick Chris Oladokun will compete for a roster spot but likely not for the starting job. Whether Pickett wins the competition or not will be decided on something other than measuring his hands.

PFT

 

Picket has the smallest hands in the league. Everyone scoffs, until they are reminded that the QB with the smallest hands in the league last season is a 4 time league MVP. None other than Aaron Rogers.