Quarterbacks will once again dominate the NFL offseason.
Quarterbacks looking for homes. Quarterbacks sick of their current homes, or sent to new ones for capital in the 2021 NFL draft. Quarterbacks without a home. Quarterbacks set to go home, for good, via retirement.
All options appear on the table. That was the case last March, when four teams took chances in free agency and added established starters, with Tom Brady shocking most of the league by switching snow shovels in New England for jet skis in Tampa, Florida.
Last January, we asked league executives and coaches to make predictions about that position and what else was next for the league in the 2020 season. That list featured some misses (like Taysom Hill supplanting Drew Brees) and hits (Philip Rivers to the Colts).
This time will bring more of the same, with insiders offering insights into league thinking as free agency and the draft approach.
Jump to a topic:
The Colts' QB decision
The case for status quo in Chicago
A surprising home for Darnold
The next blockbuster WR trade
Matthew Stafford or Carson Wentz to the Colts
General manager Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts have been deliberate with their post-Andrew Luck roster construction. They never reached to replace Luck, opting for one-year experiments with Jacoby Brissett and Philip Rivers while stocking both sides of the ball with talent and trading a first-round pick to the 49ers for defensive anchor DeForest Buckner.
The Colts can choose to run it back with Rivers. But the long-term answer at quarterback might finally await them.
"I think they signed Philip Rivers to one year for a reason -- they saw it as a stopgap," said an AFC exec of Rivers, who has passed for 4,005 yards with 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. "He can still play, but mobility is an issue. They've been pretty methodical and waiting for the right time to strike. This could be the time [at quarterback]."
Enter Stafford, whose trade viability has never felt more palpable after 12 years in Detroit.