Marcus Mariota- Chargers
For every other quarterback on the market, knowledge of their next destination won’t come quickly, since a certain 42 year old quarterback’s upcoming decision will put the rest of the market on hold until he announces where he plans to play in 2020.
The Bears make sense for Mariota, the Raiders have reported interest and make sense as well, but I believe Mariota’s best chance to revive his career will be in Los Angeles under Anthony Lynn.
Tyrod Taylor is the only other player that’d give Mariota competition for the starting job, which in all honesty, should be very attractive to Mariota and his camp.
Jameis Winston- Raiders
Jon Gruden isn’t afraid of signing turnover prone players at the quarterback position, reference the Nathan Peterman signing in 2018.
Signing Winston to sit behind Derek Carr, maybe giving him a little competition, has more positives than you might imagine.
Sure, there’s the comical amount of interceptions that come with Winston, but boy when he isn’t throwing head scratching INTs, he’s lighting up the stat sheet. If Jameis didn’t bring himself the attention of a miserable 30-30 season, we’d be discussing the fact that Winston threw for over 5,000 yards a LOT more often.
Also, could you imagine Jon Gruden mic’d up coaching Jameis Winston?
Dude that’d be hilarious right?
Teddy Bridgewater- Buccaneers
First off, let me say it’s a shame Bridgewater isn’t getting as much attention as the other quarterbacks as free agency draws near.
When Drew Brees went down early in the year with a serious hand injury, Bridgewater entered in as the starter, and didn’t allow his squad to miss a beat.
During Bridgewater’s 6 game run filling in for Brees, Bridgewater won all 6 games, keeping them alive in heated the NFC playoff race and giving Brees one more shot to win another ring in New Orleans.
Now a free agent once again, Bridgewater is looking for another place that’ll hand him the keys to the offense.
With Drew Brees returning for another year, that place certainly won’t be in New Orleans.
However, there’s another NFC South team with a respected head coach and a variety of weapons, waiting for a decent quarterback to fall into their hands.
Ah yes, you saw “Buccaneers” in the prediction, so my explanation is pretty much useless to you.
I think this would be an excellent acquisition for Bruce Arians, one that I believe would pay off big time down the line. Only downside is, we probably won’t get the spicy postgame comments from Arians when he’s asked about Winston’s turnover problem.
Sigh, a good thing can only last so long.
Dak Prescott- Cowboys
Jerry Jones would rather kick a rock with his bare foot, than let Dak Prescott walk in free agency.
Okay maybe not that extreme, but you get the gist.
If no long term deal is reached before next Monday’s franchise tag deadline, expect the Cowboys to slap the tag on Prescott, and table the negotiations for the time being.
Running Backs
Derrick Henry- Titans
Perhaps the best running back to hit free agency in a while, Henry is in line for a nice sized raise after leading the league in rushing this past season.
Not only that, he was the driving force behind the Titans getting within a game of playing for a Super Bowl title. He finally gave in to a more physical running style, found the consistency that’s eluded him for most of his career, and is prepared to be the face of this Titans offense for years to come.
However, because of his position, and the running style that this offense demands, there’s always going to be some sort of hesitation to give out a long term deal.
BUT, I’m pretty certain the Titans understand their situation with and without Henry.
This isn’t hard, he’ll be back in Tennessee either with an extension or be slapped with the franchise tag.
No problems here.
Kenyan Drake- Cardinals
Drake was a victim of the 2019 Miami Dolphins Roster Purge, not getting snaps until he finally found a way out, getting traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a measly conditional 6th round pick.
He took David Johnson’s job as soon as he arrived, and proceeded to put up some of the best numbers of his career.
His fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is about as perfect as apple pie with ice cream, so I don’t see a scenario where Kingsbury lets Drake walk away.
Melvin Gordon- Chargers
Oh man what a disaster for Melvin Gordon.
He held out until week 5 in response to not receiving a long term deal, and boy did it go wrong.
Somehow Gordon didn’t realize his own backup, Austin Ekeler, could do all the things he could do, but for far cheaper. Even after Gordon returned and regained his starting spot, his numbers were pedestrian at best.
Gordon’s plans to receive a long term deal are 100% doomed, now he’ll have to scavenge the market for a good deal that’s most likely not going to fall into his hands. He could go to Miami, since they need a running back, well, they need almost……everything.
But a short deal to return to the Chargers seems like the best course of action for Gordon.
Good luck.