MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Minshew has good numbers. I wonder why some team doesn’t get him and make him their starter?

 

Colt McCoy out, Trace McSorley to start for Cardinals



Trace McSorley will be the Cardinals’ starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against the Buccaneers.

Colt McCoy is still in the concussion protocol and will be out this week, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said today.


McSorley came in to replace McCoy after he suffered his concussion on Sunday and did not play well, going 7-for-15 for 95 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. This will be the first start of McSorley’s NFL career.

The Cardinals are down to their third-string quarterback after losing both Kyler Murray and McCoy. David Blough will be the backup to McSorley on Saturday.

PFT

 

More bad QB news...



The Titans expect to play the rest of the season without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Paul Kuharsky of paulkuharsky.com reports.

Kuharsky said it’s “very likely” Tannehill will not return until next season because of a right ankle injury expected to require surgery to repair.



Tannehill originally injured the ankle in an Oct. 23 game against the Colts, finishing the game but missing the next two games. He re-injured the ankle on the team’s first drive Sunday when Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack landed on the quarterback’s right foot.

Tannehill missed only one series before returning.

Rookie Malik Willis took all of the first-team snaps at quarterback in practice Tuesday and Wednesday with Tannehill out.

The Titans signed veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the active roster Wednesday. Dobbs will backup Willis.

Tennessee (7-7) still leads the AFC South, even after a four-game losing streak, but its lead now is down to one game over the Jaguars. The Titans play the Texans, Cowboys and Jaguars to close out the season.

PFT

 

Despite leading all players in fan voting, Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t make the Pro Bowl



The fans stuffed the ballot box for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. In the end, getting the most votes of any NFL player wasn’t enough to propel him to the Pro Bowl. Or whatever it’s now called.

The AFC quarterbacks, based on the final voting consisting of one third fans, one third coaches, and one third players, are Josh Allen of the Bills, Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, and Joe Burrow of the Bengals.


Tagovailoa is a first alternate. He’ll definitely make it, if the Bills, Chiefs, or Bengals qualify for the Super Bowl.

Of course, the Dolphins could still qualify for the Super Bowl. And that’s a far bigger accomplishment for Tua, and for the team.

The Dolphins have three Pro Bowlers, for now: receiver Tyreek Hill, tackle Terron Armstead, and cornerback Xavien Howard.

PFT

 

And neither did Justin Fields make the PB... a complete joke!

F the Pro Bowl anyway, I never cared for it, never spent 3 hours watching it, but its the point that just like the MLB writers for the HOF, they cant get shit right to save their asses.

 

In the case of Tagovaiola, they got it right. He’s had a heck of a season, but doesn’t deserve above the 3 that made it. In the end, one of those 3 will more than likely make the SB and he goes anyway… I wouldn’t put him above Herbert though. I think he’s the 5th best QB in the AFC right now. For that matter, what makes him better than Trevor Lawrence?

In this case the coaches and players got it right. The best 3 QBs in the NFL all reside in the AFC and they all made the pro bowl.

 

Dak Prescott: Eagles game about making a statement to ourselves



The Christmas Eve matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys was circled on many calendars for most of the season as a game that could decide the NFC East, but it lost a little luster last weekend.

Losing to the Jaguars left the Cowboys needing to win all their remaining games while the Eagles lose all of theirs in order for Dallas to win the division. That’s not a likely turn of events, even with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts dealing with a shoulder injury, so the Cowboys are shifting their focus a bit.


Quarterback Dak Prescott said that the team has an “understanding when you lose a game you’ve got one chance, and your only chance is really just to respond” with a better performance the next time out.

“If anything, it’s about making the statement to ourselves,” Prescott said, via the team’s website. “As you look at the season, we’ve had some games where we played really well. And we’ve had some games where we bit ourselves in the foot . . . So, this is about putting our best foot forward.”

Prescott has thrown seven interceptions in the last four games, so a clean game against the Eagles would be a good response for him individually and a boost to the team’s chances of beating their divisional rivals.

PFT

 

Its Official...Let the mania begin!



Get ready, Dallas — Minshew Mania is officially coming to town.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni confirmed on Thursday that starting quarterback Jalen Hurts is out for Week 16 and backup Gardner Minshew will be behind center against the Cowboys.


“Gardner will be our guy and Gardner will be ready,” Sirianni said. “Gardner worked his butt off for this opportunity against a really good football team. Had a great practice yesterday. I think you guys have all heard that, how good a practice he had yesterday — a lot of energy out there. He’s ready to go.”

Sirianni added that Hurts did everything he could to play.

“He’s disappointed because he wants to play,” Sirianni said, via Josh Tolentino of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But we have to do what’s best as an organization to put us in a safe spot because he will play through anything. Those are hard conversations we have to have sometimes.”

Minshew started a pair of games for Philadelphia last year, though only one was truly of consequence as the Eagles rested starters in Week 18. Minshew and the Eagles beat the Jets 33-18 in Week 13, with Minshew finishing 20-of-25 passing for 242 yards with a pair of touchdowns.

The Eagles will clinch the NFC East and the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a victory over the Cowboys.

PFT
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This is going to be fun. Id love to see him dismanel the Dallas D.

 

Patrick Mahomes is six away from breaking NFL record for consecutive completions



Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has a chance to break an NFL record tomorrow against the Seahawks.

Mahomes completed his final 20 pass attempts in the Chiefs’ win over the Texans on Sunday, meaning that if he completes his first six passes tomorrow, he will have completed 26 in a row, a new NFL record.


“I did not know that at all, and that doesn’t sound like me,” Mahomes told PFT after the game, “so that’s probably a one-time thing and I’ll just cherish that one.”

The current record of 25 consecutive completions is owned by four different quarterbacks: Ryan Tannehill, who did it over two games in 2015, Marcus Mariota, who did it over two games in 2018, Philip Rivers, who did it in one game in 2018, and Nick Foles, who did it in one game in 2018.

That odd collection of quarterbacks could all see their names wiped from the NFL record book on Saturday, if Mahomes connects on his first six passes.

PFT

 

Zach Wilson: I’ve got to look myself in the mirror, we didn’t do anything on offense



Jets quarterback Zach Wilson acknowledged after Thursday night’s loss to the Jaguars that his performance was unacceptable.

“I’ve got to look myself in the mirror, I’ve got to go back and watch this tape, and you’ve got to be hard on yourself and just say, ‘Why are we not moving the ball?’ It starts with me,” Wilson said. “I didn’t put my team in the best position there and we didn’t do anything on offense.”


Wilson, who was widely criticized for saying he didn’t think he felt the Jets’ defense down after a 10-3 loss to the Patriots, acknowledged that he let his teammates down in last night’s 19-3 loss to the Jaguars.

“I’ve just got to put my head down and try and get better for these guys,” Wilson said. “That’s kind of my message for them. I’m trying to give it everything I’ve got. I’m trying to late it out for you guys and it’s not good enough. I’ve got to put them in a better position.”

Wilson said it was tough to hear boos from Jets fans.

“Yeah, it is, but I don’t blame them. We have a passionate fan base and they’re here to watch us score touchdowns and we’re not scoring touchdowns, we’re not getting first downs, we’re not moving the ball, we obviously can’t throw the ball. Of course they’re frustrated,” Wilson said.

And the Jets are frustrated that the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft looks like a major bust.

PFT

 

Report: Ryan Tannehill had ankle surgery this week and is a “long shot” to play again this season



If the Tennessee Titans are going to make it to the playoffs, they’re most likely going to have to get there without quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

ESPN reports that Tannehill had ankle surgery this week. He’s considered to be a “long shot” to play again this season.


Previous reports from other outlets had indicated that Tannehill was likely out for the year.

During Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, Tannehill was carted to the locker room after injuring the ankle. He returned to action after missing only one series.

Rookie Malik Willis takes over for Tannehill. Willis started two games earlier this year. In the first one, Willis presided over a run-heavy offense to beat the Texans. The following week, in a prime-time game against the Chiefs, Willis threw 16 passes (completing only five) in an overtime loss to the Chiefs.

For the year, Willis has completed 17 of 38 passes for 177 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception; that equates to a passer rating of only 47.8. Willis also has 80 yards rushing, on 20 attempts.

PFT

 

Raiders will have a quick decision to make on Derek Carr



The up-and-down year for the Raiders will force the team to make a quick decision for 2023.

Is quarterback Derek Carr in or out?


Saturday night’s three-interception performance has once again renewed questions as to whether he should remain with the team. And, as explained at the time his latest contract was completed, the Raiders have a way to get out from under the bulk of the deal.

But if they’re going to do it, they’ll need to act quickly.

Hyped by the quid-pro-quo crowd as a firm, $40.5 million deal, the truth was and is that Carr received $24.9 million in 2022, with no full guarantees beyond the current season.

Carr has a $32.9 million salary for 2023, which was guaranteed for injury at the time of signing. It, along with $7.5 million in 2024 salary currently guaranteed for injury, becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2023 waiver period.

The waiver period begins after the Super Bowl. If the Raiders are going to cut Carr — and escape that $40.4 million liability — they’ll have a narrow window in which to act.

There are two important caveats. First, Carr can’t be traded before the guarantee vests. An informal trade could be worked out (like the Alex Smith deal in early 2018), but the guarantees would vest and, if the deal fell through, the Raiders would be stuck.

Second, Carr has to be able to pass a physical before the third day of the waiver period. That could tempt the Raiders to put him in bubble wrap if/when they are eliminated. (If the Dolphins win today and the Chargers win tomorrow, it’s over for the Raiders.)

If that happens — if it’s announced that Carr won’t be playing for the rest of the season — it will be a clear signal as to what’s coming. Which would be Carr likely going, after nine years with the Raiders.

PFT

 

Commanders will decide between Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz by Wednesday morning



The Commanders, at 7-7-1, are barely clinging to the last spot in the NFC playoff field. With two more games to play, they may be making a quarterback change.

As explained on Sunday’s Football Night in America, the Washington coach staff will meet on Monday to review the performance of Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz in Saturday’s loss to the 49ers. The coaches will consider the pros and cons of both players, with an eye toward making the best decision moving forward.


Look for a decision to be made on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning at the latest. And while there’s no indication as to how it will play out, there’s a feeling that the coaching staff liked what it saw from Wentz, in his first game action since October 13, at Chicago.

Heinicke has also given them plenty to like in recent weeks, too. Maybe the best approach would be to get both ready to go, and to use both of them.

Heinicke completed 13 of 18 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception on Saturday. Wentz connected on 12 of 16 throws, for 123 yards and one touchdown. Heinicke also had one fumble, which the 49ers recovered.

The Commanders finish the season with home games against the Browns and Cowboys. Washington has gone 0-2-1 over the last three games, after winning six of seven.

Win both, and the Commanders will make it. Lose just one, and there’s a good chance one of the various 7-8 teams (Packers, Lions, Seahawks) will slip in front of the Commanders, with 9-8 beating out 8-8-1.

It may come down to whether the Cowboys rest their starters in Week 18. If the Eagles beat the Saints on Sunday and clinch the division title, the Cowboys will be locked into the No. 5 seed. There will be nothing to gain or to lose in the regular-season finale.

One thing to gain would be this — a loss to the Commanders (assuming they beat the Browns on Sunday) would ensure that Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t get a seat at the postseason table, and that the hot (but not as hot as they were before Saturday) Lions are kept out, too.

PFT

 

Tua Tagovailoa: It was just terrible how everything ended



Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a disastrous fourth quarter in Sunday’s loss to the Packers, throwing three interceptions in Miami’s 26-20 loss.

Tagovailoa detailed the three picks after the game, saying the first was an overthrow, the second was a miscommunication, and the third — which came on the Dolphins’ last drive when the club had a chance for a go-ahead touchdown — was a poor throw.


“It was just terrible how everything ended,” Tagovailoa said in his postgame press conference. “Like I told the guys, that’s on me and I’ll definitely get better from that.”

Tagovailoa was just 4-of-8 passing for 48 yards with his three interceptions in the fourth quarter.

“It’s tough. You get an opportunity to play on Christmas Day against a really good team and I got out there and really, not being able to put my best foot forward for our team. But, in hindsight of it, this is something that we’ve got to be able to move on from,” Tagovailoa said. “So for this game, want this game to stand on its own merit as well. Obviously, we’re going to learn from these mistakes.”

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins need to learn quickly. Miami has lost four straight games to fall to 8-7 and has a trip to New England next week. But if the Dolphins win their next two games, they’ll be in the playoffs.

“I would say it’s easy to keep the confidence up with this group,” Tagovailoa said. “I think we all believe in each other. I would say we all love one another. We’re all invested into each other as well.

“I don’t think it’s time for us to blink. We just move on and we learn from it and we’ve got another tough team that we’ve got to go to and play.”

PFT

 

Mike White cleared to play in Week 17



The Jets’ playoff hopes remain alive despite their Week 16 loss to the Jaguars and it looks like Mike White will be back at quarterback as they try to advance to the postseason.

Brian Costello of the New York Post was the first to report that White has been cleared to return to action by doctors. White missed the last two games due to a fractured rib that doctors were concerned could become displaced and puncture his lung if he took a hit to the wrong spot.


White’s absence meant 2021 first-round pick Zach Wilson returned to the lineup for the last two games. He had ups and downs in a Week 15 loss to the Lions and was a disaster before being benched in favor of practice squad call-up Chris Streveler in the 19-3 loss to the Jaguars.

The Jets will advance to the playoffs if they beat the Seahawks and Dolphins in their final two games while the Patriots lose one of their final two games.

PFT

 

Eagles not ruling out Jalen Hurts for Sunday



The Eagles went into Week 16 needing to win one of their final three games to clinch the division title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. They go into Week 17 needing to win one of their final two games to accomplish that.

The Eagles close out with home games against the Saints and Giants.

Gardner Minshew had three of the team’s four turnovers in the 40-34 loss to the Cowboys, so that could push Jalen Hurts to try to return quicker than he otherwise would have with his sprained shoulder.

The Eagles aren’t ruling out Hurts playing this week.

“We’ll see. One day at a time here,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday, via video from the team. “You know how much he wanted to play last week and how much he did to get his body read, and again with Jalen, his body deals different than yours and mine. He’s going to do everything that he can do to get himself healthy, and if he’s healthy, he’ll play.”

PFT

 

Tua Tagovailoa placed in concussion protocol again



Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s status for the Week 17 matchup against the Patriots is in doubt after the quarterback was once again placed in the concussion protocol on Monday.

Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Tagovailoa’s status in his Monday press conference.

Via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, McDaniel said no one noticed that Tagovailoa sustained a hit that would have caused a concussion.

“It was something he met with doctors today and discussed some symptoms,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel added that it’s not clear if Tagovailoa actually suffered a concussion, but he displayed enough symptoms to be placed in the protocol. McDaniel only found out about it a couple of hours ago. There is a chance that Tagovailoa could be cleared this week.

But if he isn’t, Teddy Bridgewater would start in Tagovailoa’s stead. He returned from injury to being the team’s backup on Sunday.

Of course, Tagovailoa missed time earlier this season with a concussion when his head hit the turf against the Bengals back in September. The week before, he had displayed gross motor instability after being pushed to the ground on a pass against the Bills. But he was cleared to return to the game with what he and the team called a back injury.

PFT

 

Tua in protocol again. He didn’t even come out of the game. He is going to be retired early.

 

Broncos seem to be stuck with Russell Wilson for at least one more year



The decision of the Broncos to fire coach Nathaniel Hackett and to keep, at least for now, G.M. George Paton suggests that the Broncos indeed will try to rectify the Russell Wilson debacle.

They really have no choice.


The contract that Paton gave to Wilson in late August makes the cap consequences for cutting him after the first year of the new deal untenable. Without a post-June 1 designation, the Broncos would take a $107 million cap charge by cutting Wilson this year. With a post-June 1 designation, the Broncos would carry $22 million in Wilson’s name this year, and $85 million in 2024.

It gets a little easier after the 2023 season. A post-June 1 designation in 2024 would result in a $35.4 million cap charge that year, with $49.6 million carried over to 2025.

Here’s another reason to do it in early 2024. If Wilson is on the roster on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, $37 million in 2025 salary becomes fully guaranteed.

Wilson already has received $57 million for 2022. He has another $67 million in fully-guaranteed payments over the next two years.

A trade would result in a lower cap charge, by foisting the remaining guarantees onto a new team. But who in their right mind would take on Wilson at $67 million over two years, and $104 million over three?

The best outcome, as suggested in spitball style during Tuesday’s PFT Live, would be to persuade Wilson to retire, perhaps with an offer that there would be no effort to recoup $40 million in paid but unearned signing bonus. That would reduce the cap charge for 2023 to $40 million. (If the retirement were processed after June 1, Wilson would cost only $10 million against the cap in 2023 and $30 million in 2024.)

Good luck getting Wilson to walk away. He’d likely need at least one more year of sluggish play, at a minimum, to begin to come to the conclusion that he’s no longer the player he used to be, and that he should consider packing it in and walking away. Even then, why give up guarantees that are fully vested?

Sure, it’s bad for the team to owe a bunch of money to a player who isn’t earning it. But it’s good for the player to ultimately cash every check of $124 million in full guarantees over three seasons.

Bottom line? Unless Wilson would indeed retire, the Broncos seem to be stuck with him for one more year. After 2023, it becomes more manageable to move on — and it arguably becomes imperative to avoid another $37 million in full guarantees that vest in March 2024.

Our assessment? The Broncos will try to fix Wilson in 2023. If they can’t make him the player he once was, he’ll be gone in 2024.

PFT
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I get easily confused with this shit. I didnt realize Wilson was the problem. I thought maybe the TEAM around him need s to be better suited for his type of play. Why in the first place did they sign him? Thought he was what they were looking for?

What a mess these Broncos have become. They not only need to addressed the now fired staff, but actually in my opinion need to look at building a team around Wilson or they flat out look foolish to have went for him in the first place.

 

Eberflus rejects idea of shutting down QB Fields: 'We want to improve. We want to see where we are'

Matt Eberflus emphatically rebuked talk of the Chicago Bears shutting down quarterback Justin Fields for the season's final two weeks.

"Absolutely not," the coach responded Monday when broached about the possibility of putting the young QB on ice with two games left.

The Bears currently sit at the No. 2 draft slot, just a half-game behind the Houston Texans for the No. 1 overall pick. Chicago could conceivably leap into the top spot by losing out to Detroit and Minnesota, with Houston finishing the season against the Jaguars and cratering Colts.

Then there is the injury aspect that the Bears would have to worry about. Fields has already dealt with a separated shoulder and left last week's blowout loss after getting his foot stepped on. Fields is healthy enough to play, but ensuring nothing catastrophic takes place in the season's final two weeks that could disrupt his development in 2023 should take priority.

Even with the reasons to sit Fields, Eberflus insisted that to grow and develop, learning on the job is a bigger benefit than tanking or playing it safe.

"We've got to get better," Eberflus said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. "We want to improve. We want to see where we are. These last two games matter. They're division opponents to us, very important to our football team to see the competition, to see guys compete against our division.

"I think it's important for each man, it's important for each unit and it's important for our whole football team."


The Bears have lost eight consecutive games, so you could understand Eberflus not wanting to wrap up his first season on a 10-week skid.

The Bears have shown flashes of potential behind Fields' dynamic play. But a disintegrating defense following trades and injuries coupled with a talent-poor offense have Chicago waiting for the offseason to enact phase two of the rebuild.

For Eberflus, his young team learning how to close out games would be an invaluable experience in the final two weeks.

"We have to learn how to finish," he said. "We're at the game two days ago, but you saw it, right? It was fourth quarter, eight minutes to go, it was 21-13, right? We've got the ball, and we've gotta learn how to finish. We have to finish there...

"They're getting close to really understanding how to finish the game, and you finish with game-defining execution. That's what you finish with. In those moments that the plays, when they matter in the fourth quarter, we execute. And, to me, these next two games are just about that -- being able to execute in those game-defining moments, those plays that matter, and getting it done. To me, that's important going forward to the future."

On paper, the Bears have nothing left to play for and would be better off shutting Fields down to preserve his health and maximize their draft potential. However, NFL coaches come at it from a much different angle -- especially so early in a tenure. Unlike other sports, football coaches only have 17 chances per season to instill their vision. Eberflus plans to use every one of them to develop his club and young quarterback.

NFL.com