By: Walter Hudson Sr.

The story broke recently that NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers will remain with the Green Bay Packers, after scoring a four-year, $200 million contract extension, becoming the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback.

There was some talk around the NFL about Aaron’s stability of being with the team that was possibly uncertain. Now we know it is certain that Rodgers is happy with the Packers. After all, he has 200 million reasons to be.

Shortly after the breaking news about Rodgers, the football world learned the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos were in a trade where Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson will be in a Broncos uniform for the 2022-2023 season, in exchange for quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, two first-round picks, two seconds and a fifth.

Wilson’s production at quarterback began to decline with the Seahawks from a finger injury that gave the Seahawks its losing season under Wilson at the helm.

The time has come for the Russell and the Seahawks to part ways. It will be interesting to see how Drew Lock will perform with the Seahawks, who need to rebuild the offensive line and add additional receivers and running backs that once helped Wilson reach Super Bowl XLVIII, where the Seahawks defeated the Broncos 43”“8 in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014.

There are those who hope to see Russell Wilson, former Wisconsin Badger, get back to his winning ways with the Denver Broncos, like the Seahawks, who did not qualify for the 2021 playoffs.

The football world was put in a state of shock again, a day after the Russell Wilson trade, the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts agreed to a deal that will send quarterback Carson Wentz to Commanders in exchange for two third-round picks. The Commanders have committed to Wentz $28 Million salary in addition to some guaranteed money for the 2022 season. Let’s see if Wentz can stay healthy this year since we know he has been injury-prone. He tore his ACL in week 13, with the Philadelphia Eagles against the Los Angeles Rams.

We will find out in this year’s 2022 NFL Draft, in Las Vegas, what QB needy teams such as Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, will draft or trade for a quality quarterback. Until then, such teams are on the clock!

The post Recapping the major QB news in the NFL appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Seattle Seahawks have traded their former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos and they could soon perform another QB trade. The Seahawks could soon trade for the very talented, controversial Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson. According to Bleacher Report and other sources, people around the league expect the Hawks to replace Wilson with Watson.

Watson won’t face criminal charges for his sexual assault allegations and the Seahawks (along with many other clubs) have expressed strong interest after he recently wasn’t found guilty. Many fans are not fond of Watson, but countless NFL teams and football fanatics are in awe of his football ability. Here is a closer look at how productive Watson has been in his career thus far:

• Three-time Pro Bowl selection
• 28-25 career record
• 4,823 passing yards, 444 rushing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, and 7 interceptions thrown in 2020

It’s obvious that Watson was a Top-5 QB in 2020 and many teams view him as a potential MVP QB in their organization. It appears that Pete Carroll could obtain the Texans “dual-threat” QB and insert him into his offense that currently features D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Locket, and Rashad Penny.

The Seahawks really make a ton of sense as a potential destination for Watson. They don’t only desperately need a QB, but they have more draft picks than other QB-needy squads to land Watson. They can use the draft compensation they recently received from the Broncos to acquire Watson. The Texans QB might be unpopular to many fans, but he is seven years younger than Wilson and arguably more talented than Wilson right now.

It’s clear that it’s “the rise of the AFC and NFC West” in the NFL. The Chargers and Broncos have begun building prominent squads to be a fiercer competition against the likes of Patrick Mahomes. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals have built juggernaut rosters over the past year. The NFC West literally featured the two squads that were playing in the NFC Championship (Rams, 49ers). It would be fitting if the Seahawks brought in Watson and came out guns blazing in the wild NFC West in 2022.

The post Should the Seahawks trade for Deshaun Watson? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By Rod Villagomez

Once upon a time, Marcus Mariota was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the second pick in the 2015 draft. He joined an organization several years removed from their glory days and searching for a new identity. He went on to lead his team to a playoff appearance in his third season with Tennessee. Along the way, he took the team from a 3-13 record in his first year, to three straight seasons over the .500 mark. He showed his mobility and playmaking ability on the field and helped put the Titans back in the conversation of one of the better teams in the league.

It all came to an end unceremoniously in the 2019 season when Ryan Tannehill replaced the injured Mariota and held on to the job for the rest of the year. That offseason, the Titans offered Tannehill the invitation to stay sending Mariota to find his own way. He did that by signing with the Las Vegas Raiders to back up Derek Carr. He only appeared in a single game in his first year of the two year contract he signed with the Raiders.

There are plenty of teams that are in need of a starting quarterback heading into the 2021 season. It’s arguable that Mariota’s best days are actually not behind him and that bad luck has him playing back up to an ironman. If this is true, there should be several phone calls being made to secure his services. Here are four possible trading partners that would benefit from the former Oregon standout.  

New England Patriots – Current Quarterbacks: Cam Newton (FA), Jarrett Stidham

The 2021 season in New England will not begin with Cam Newton under center. That being the case, the need for his replacement should be a priority for the Patriots. Mariota’s has a valid case to be that guy. Big named potentials have been taken off the board in past weeks. Names like Carson Wentz who is now an Indianapolis Colt. Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford pulled the old switcheroo and will permanently swap jerseys next season. There do remain though some big fish to try and land like Deshaun Watson. In all reality, the Pats don’t have enough to offer Houston for that to happen.

So what that leaves is a collection of names a la Dak Prescott, Mitchell Trubisky, and Ryan Fitzpatrick among others. Of these, none seem likely to raise the antenna much as a potential leader in New England. This means if Bill Belichick wants a new face under center next year, his best bet is to make a deal. Several people seem to think that bringing back Jimmy Garoppolo makes sense. As touching as it would be to bring the former Tom Brady backup home, he carries with him a hefty price tag. The Patriots would need to take on his $24 million contract to suit him up in their colors next season. Mariota on the other hand, would only require a little over $10 million to put on the red, white, and blue.

In the short term memory syndrome that has befallen the NFL, some might have forgotten that all was not that bad in Tennessee in the Mariota era. He logged two seasons with more than 3,000 passing yards and made a deep playoff run in the 2017 season. More importantly, he helped turn around an otherwise slumping franchise. Up to his arrival, the Titans finished under .500 in four of the last five seasons. He’s still only 28 and given the chance could offer the Patriots a solid foundation from which to begin their rebuild.

The question becomes what do the Raiders get for Mariota? In this instance, New England is without a third-round pick which seems to be the agreement on market price. That may change though as the Patriots are in line for a compensatory pick for Tom Brady which could come in the third round. It could be that the Pats part ways with their fourth-round pick and a defensive player of their choice. The Raiders struggled in many aspects defensively last season, especially on the defensive line. Whatever the cost, if Belichick wants Mariota bad enough, he’s sure to make it happen. 

Denver Broncos – Current Quarterbacks: Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Jeff Driskel

It does not appear as if Drew Lock is the future in Colorado. The Broncos second-round pick of the 2019 draft hasn’t been all John Elway had hoped he’d be. It probably wasn’t realistic to expect a rookie to have an immediate impact on a franchise coming off of back-to-back sub .500 seasons. That said, Lock had difficulty hitting a stride in the season and a half he held the reigns. This ineffectiveness could open the door for the arrival of Mariota. He certainly provides the level of veteran leadership to the Mile High City it’s been lacking since the departure of Peyton Manning. 

No matter which quarterback is taking snaps for the Broncos next season, work will need to be done around him for him to succeed. If it does turn out to be Mariota, he’ll be throwing behind the 8th worst offensive line in the league. He will have some stability though in the running game with Melvin Gordon as the anchor. Gordon finished only 14 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards last season. They will have to find at least one more explosive receiver. If they can support him Mariota could be the solution to Denver’s quarterback problem. 

Jacksonville Jaguars – Current Quarterback: Gardner Minshew, Mike Glennon

This is no knock on Minshew Mania. Gardner Minshew has stolen many hearts in Jacksonville. It also blinded a lot of eyes as a result. His epic beard hides his overall ineffectiveness over the last two seasons. Maybe more of it has to do with his situation than talent, but the fact remains that it is not working out for either party anymore. So much so in fact, that with the first pick in the draft, they will look to crown their next gunslinger by presumably taking Trevor Lawrence off the board. 

But here is a logic train that is lost in today’s impatient, “win now” league: talent development. You can argue that only game action seasons these rookies and that sitting does nothing good for them. While there are exceptions, what we see more than often is these young, otherwise talented quarterbacks, flame out fast. Too much pressure is put on them to save floundering teams with the skeleton of the poorly performing team surrounding them. In the end, it’s not fair to the players, the management, or the fans. 

To that point, renting Marcus Mariota for a season via trade will give Lawrence a decent mentor who has experience turning a sub .500 team into playoff contenders. It will also give Jacksonville a decent chance to “win now.” There’s plenty of young talented Jaguars to help him along the way. Breakout rookie James Robinson will be behind him in the backfield. He’ll also benefit from three speedy young wideouts in D.J. Chark, Keelan Cole, and Laviska Shenault Jr. This will be the most controversial of landing spots, but one that makes sense.

Chicago Bears – Current Quarterbacks: Mitch Trubisky (FA), Nick Foles

Whatever the question was in Chicago last season. Nick Foles was not the answer. He struggled for the better part of his nine starts with the Bears. Eventually, he lost his spot to the incumbent Chicago quarterback Mitch Trubisky. While the team managed to stumble it’s way into a second place finish in the NFC North and a playoff spot, it wasn’t pretty. They seem to be a quarterback away from being able to make a deeper run at the title.

Bringing Mariota into the fold would link him to Allen Robinson and David Montgomery. Both would up his stock. Montgomery would be a nice buffer for his new quarterback as Mariota is used to having a 1,000-yard caliber running back behind him. Chicago has a 20th pick in the third round to offer up as collateral. This would be ideal supposing they allow Trubisky to hit the free agent market. Foles will either be relegated to back up status as a result, or Chicago will try to shop him around. Either way, Chicago should look into upgrading their quarterback situation.  

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By Mike “Dirty Jobs” Darling  

Well, here we go again.  Another season is almost behind us, but to those of us in the dynasty fantasy world, the season is just beginning! With the wheels already in motion, this off-season looks to be one that will be action-packed; from potential trade targets, free agency, not to mention this year’s draft looks like it could possibly be the best in years as far as offensive production!  

All that energy leads to excitement- and in this time a person can find their opponents willing to wheel and deal and get in on the action.  I’m going to let you know the five quarterbacks I’ll be targeting this year, and why I’m going after them.    

Dwayne Haskins, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Ok, figure we will get the guy that will make you throw garbage at me out of the way first. Hear me out though.

Dwayne Haskins has all kinds of development issues and doesn’t seem to have the composure or dedication to play at the professional level.  At least that’s what it looks like on paper, anyway.

Nonetheless, this guy has enough raw talent and now is in one of the most disciplined programs in the game.  Couple that with the fact that you can buy this guy for a song, and it’s a cheap enough investment knowing that the team involved has little confidence in their big arm’s predecessor.   

Drew Lock, Denver Broncos 

Another “meh” level quarterback, but this guy is putting up fairly decent numbers and the team is starting to get amazing weapons surrounding him. Kind of like Haskins above, you can get this guy on the cheap and slot him into your Superflex position with confidence that he will give you a 15-20 with an occasional sub 10 or plus 20. 

It’s nothing to get excited about, but sometimes just having a good consistent floor is better than chasing rookie QBs in bad programs.  This is definitely more for your win now scenarios, as the tape on this guy shows his long-term value has a deep regression in years 5-6. 

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals 

Now, this is a guy I can finally get excited about! Before he got hurt, this guy looked to have a command of the game, an understanding of defensive scheming, and the ability to throw over 30 times a game on a team that has almost zero depth in their backfield. And he can run. All this adds up to a volume play with limited turnovers with a very high ceiling.

That being stated, this is a long-term play and it will be expensive. Anyone paying attention will require a first-round pick plus for this guy and to me that is just fine.  I don’t believe he will be anything amazing in the 2021 season, so waiting may be the play here but there’s an outside chance that this guy will never be cheaper than he is now if he has a season like last year.

I do however expect him to be more of a third-year breakout, but still viable enough for win-now scenarios. 

Jacob Eason, Indianapolis Colts 

Or Jacon “Ease-In” as I like to call him because with the recent retirement of Phillip Rivers, this guy is getting handed one of in not the best situations in the NFL. We are talking about a team who made the playoffs despite having Phillip Rivers at the helm with young, fast weapons at their disposal in Taylor, Pittman and Allie-Cox.

The line is one of the best when they remain healthy so almost anyone who gets this job will be able to produce solid fantasy numbers, and he looks to be the next in line with the new regime in place. 

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills 

Ok. It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t include the man I’ve been shouting off the rooftops since draft day. This team is getting better every year, and this guy’s arm is getting more and more dialed in and his understanding of the NFL is within the top five in the league.

Our only hope to not have to open the vault up to get this guy on our roster is if the community believes in any regression. I don’t see it and in fact, I see this being a consistent play week in week out.  Definitely worth the overpay if you don’t want to worry about your QB1 position the next 5 or so years. 

In summation, I feel like any of these guys can be value-added on your roster and be great fantasy plays over the next few years with a focus on volume. To me, this is the key to championships, and getting anyone on the list above should set you in a position to work other spots on your team- feeling great because you have a solid guy at the helm! 

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