This past week has been one the NFL’s absolute craziest. We’ve seen multiple earth-shaking moves come to fruition for the offseason’s quarterback carousel, and there’s still plenty of dominos to fall as free agency kicks off.
Each of the quarterback moves we saw this week represent a philosophy NFL teams have exercised in recent years to address the sport’s most valuable position. Today, I want to break down each of these moves to see which work best, worst and what they may mean for the teams in question.
Aaron Rodgers: The hometown hero
Tuesday marked the end of a months-long saga plagued by drama, controversy and disappointment. Rodgers could have gone anywhere he wanted to push for another ring, but he ultimately decided to return to the franchise that drafted him.
The Packers are exercising the philosophy of building from within with this move. They drafted Rodgers and many of the other stars that have made Green Bay yearly NFC contenders. It led to a ring early on, but since then it’s led to disappointment. All that said, the Packers and Rodgers are best off, at this point, sticking together. Countless franchises undoubtedly envy the long-term marriage the two have maintained, and the philosophy exercises a degree of patience and commitment rarely seen elsewhere in the league. Rodgers will always be able to think about the ‘what if’ of testing out another franchise, but the sure thing is often better than the hypothetical.
Carson Wentz: An exercise in agony
All too often, teams settle for second-rate quarterbacks in the hopes of letting otherwise strong rosters make a run. Indianapolis did this last year in acquiring Wentz, and they clearly want no part in it moving forward after a hasty breakup. The Washington Commanders are likely upgrading from their previous starter in Taylor Heinicke, but Wentz proved he’s far too reliant on the infrastructure around him to succeed on a weak team like the Commanders.
There are teams that look at marginal quarterback upgrades every year with wishful thinking. The Panthers were an example last year when they acquired Sam Darnold, and other teams will likely follow suit after missing out on the big names. Mediocre quarterback play puts an emphasis on the surrounding roster, and it can certainly still lead to success. But more often than not, teams lacking a top-10 signal-caller hit a wall.
Russell Wilson: Swing for the fences
The Denver Broncos acquiring Russell Wilson is in line with one of the NFL’s winningest formulas. Take a solid roster that’s a quarterback away, trade away the future to acquire a proven veteran, and profit. The Buccaneers did it with Tom Brady, the Rams did it with Matt Stafford, and the Broncos even did it back in 2015 with Peyton Manning.
This is a surefire way to bring a team from the depths of mediocrity to Super Bowl contention. Plenty still needs to break the Bronco’s way for them to make a push for the AFC, but they have a guy in Wilson who has won at the highest level and a roster that’s hungry to take the leap.
