On the latest Inside The Huddle podcast, former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young joins Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold to look at a number of NFL QBs with uncertain futures due to injury, poor play or contract uncertainty; listen to the podcast below...
Friday 6 November 2020 12:48, UK
With the usual suspects of Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady and company leading the way in the quarterback position at the midway point of the NFL season, Inside The Huddle looked at players in the position with a more uncertain future.
Listen to the Inside The Huddle podcast in the player below, as former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young joins Jeff Reinebold and Neil Reynolds to lend his expertise on the position.
They cast their eye over the two young QBs struggling in New York, the Nick Foles/Mitch Trubisky dilemma in Chicago and whether or not Dak Prescott and Cam Newton can earn new contracts...
Newton is playing on a one-year, prove-it deal in New England; after a good start, Newton contracted Covid-19 to see him miss some action and the team have lost their last four games to fall back to 2-5 on the season.
Reinebold: "If they lose to the Jets, or lose again real soon, you've got to take a look at [back-up Jarrett] Stidham to know what you have.
"Based on the one-year contract they have with Cam, he's probably not the long-term solution. He's getting older and has accumulated a lot of hits to his body - this is a guy who, when he was in Carolina, really had to carry a football team on his shoulders and just got hit way too much.
"And in defence of Cam, he had Covid and we really don't know, there may still be lingering effects of that, because I don't see the jump in his step we saw earlier in the season.
"It's hard for me to watch, because I'm a big Cam fan - always have been - and they have no talent around him; it's a really tough situation for him in New England."
Jones was drafted with the No 6 overall pick of the 2019 Draft; Jones won three of 13 games in his rookie season, throwing 24 touchdowns to 12 interceptions but has struggled in 2020, with the team 1-7 and Jones having only seven TDs to his name, along with nine picks.
Young: "I have a lot of respect for Daniel Jones and the way he reads the defense.
"There was a ball he threw to Golden Tate in the endzone [against the Buccaneers] - this guy can really do something special - and they have some good talent around him on offense, but they have to get that defense together.
"I really like the decisions he makes on a football field and I feel he's a good leader for the Giants.
"It's tough for a quarterback when every year you don't have the same offensive coordinator, the same coach. You're dealing with situations that are way out of your hands - and everybody is thinking 'this quarterback is no good'.
"They have to reset every year and, even though you're a professional, that is challenging for a quarterback to go through every offseason, especially a young QB."
Darnold was drafted with the No 3 overall pick of the 2018 Draft; Darnold has won only 11 of his 32 games in the league, and none this season, with the Jets the NFL's only winless team at 0-8 on the year.
Reinebold: "These two young guys - Darnold and Jones - are thrown into a unique situation when they are in New York City, and the New York media is vicious.
"They love nothing more than tearing athletes down. That's just the reality of playing there, and you're going to have to handle that situation.
"Darnold has no players around him, the Jets have changed general manager while he's been there and that lack of continuity makes it really difficult.
"But I will say this on these two quarterbacks: they are now what they were in college. Darnold at USC was a very talented guy but he made some really bad decisions at times. And look back at Daniel Jones, he was a turnover machine at Duke.
"There is a mentality in coaching that you're going to coach that out of them but, sometimes, it's not that easy. And, under pressure, people revert to who they are. That's what you're seeing in New York."
Prescott was playing under the franchise tag in 2020, with the Cowboys seemingly unwilling to commit to a long-term, big-money deal; Prescott was playing at an MVP level, throwing for 1,856 and nine TDs through five games before being struck down by a devastating ankle injury and Dallas have not won since.
Reinebold: "When you talk about the league's 'Most Valuable Player', how valuable was Dak Prescott to the Cowboys? This year is really showing that.
"I think Jerry Jones is absolutely out of his mind if he doesn't give Dak a long-term contract.
Fitzpatrick, a 37-year-old veteran who has played for eight different teams, was always seen as a placeholder in Miami before handing over the reins to rookie Tua Tagovailoa, but he impressed in his six starts to open the season, leading them to a 3-3 record.
Young: "I think he'll be a coach one day in the NFL. He is a very smart guy; I had the opportunity to play with him in Buffalo.
"He and coach [offensive coordinator] Chan Gailey are really good friends, and so I'm pretty sure he'll be on that or some coaching staff one day."
Ryan currently leads the NFL in passing yards (2,462) through the first eight weeks of the season and is on course for a 10th-straight 4,000 yard year, but the Falcons have disappointed as a team, returning a 2-6 record.
Reinebold: "When we talk about quarterbacks on this list, it's about where are you going to get better than what you've got? Is Trevor Lawrence going to be better? Maybe, but there's only one of him in the [2021] Draft.
"When you look also at the likes of Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, and even Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles, are you going to be able to find a better quarterback in the draft?
"Until you throw away a Matt Ryan, you better make sure you've got somebody better lined up.
"Historically, drafting quarterbacks is a 50/50 proposition, at best."
Both quarterbacks have found success with their respective team, with Garoppolo leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl last season, and Mayfield setting rookie records in 2018 before a down 2019; but are they the long-term solution?
Reinebold: "I understand the clamour for a new guy. Garoppolo and Mayfield, to me, are the same guy.
"They're good enough to make plays, but I don't know if they're good enough to put a team on their back to win a Super Bowl. However, how many of those guys are really out there?
"Before you jettison a quarterback and move on to the next guy, you better make sure you're moving on to somebody better than what you've got or you could end up in a real mess."
Chicago opened the season with Trubisky - the No 2 overall pick in the 2017 Draft - as their starter, but he was replaced by former Super Bowl MVP Foles in just the third game of the season; the Bears are currently 5-3.
Young: "You want to be around a veteran quarterback to help guide you. Trubisky never really had that - he was thrown into the fire pretty quick - and, to me, I think he has the potential to be a really good quarterback.
"He has some things he has to work on behind the scenes, and why not learn from a guy like Foles, who has always been that second-string quarterback.
"Foles has always been patient. That can help Trubisky understand that this game is not about just a first-string quarterback, because he can go down at any moment - it's about staying ready, staying prepared, stay focussed.
"I think that's good for him going into the future, with the Bears or be that somewhere else."
Reinebold: "The Bears have so much money tied up into the quarterback position right now, that it's going to be really difficult to improve their football team.
"If you look at the Bears, QB is only one of the problems they have; they don't have a running game and the offensive line has been problematic for two years now, they don't have enough dynamic weapons on the outside, nor an elite-level tight end.
"The teams that are winning are loaded with talent and the Bears are talent-deficient. It may be a situation where they have to blow the thing up and start again."
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