Options at QB for 2021

Luke Summerlin

Alex Smith has been named Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year. An accolade that most, save for a few Ben Roethlisberger stans can agree that Alex deserved. Taylor Heinicke looks to have promise as a backup after going shot for shot with Tom Brady. Kyle Allen continues to rehab a gruesome dislocated ankle injury suffered against the Giants on week 9. Dwayne Haskins, as we all know, has been cut and has since signed a one year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

With Smith’s future undecided, Heinicke a restricted free agent, Allen injured, and Haskins cut, the question begs: What can Washington do at QB in 2021. Better yet, what should they do. The Ron Rivera and newly hired front office executives Marty Hurney and Martin Mayhew have a few options to mull over. The sense is that Washington will be in play for a QB in a “big way” (per multiple sources). What options will the team have?

In House

WFT went 5-1 with Alex Smith as it’s starter and showed great competitiveness with Taylor Heinicke at the helm with Smith sidelined due to a nagging calf strain. While that narrative may be viewing the situation with burgundy and rose colored glasses, it would be the simplest option. Roll with what you have and utilize the salary cap space you have (5th highest in the league) and try to have another successful draft class to build a team around the current quarterbacks on the roster. The problem with this is that all three quarterbacks have sizable question marks.

Does Alex Smith want to return for a 17th year in the league and if so, will his 17 times surgically repaired leg be able to hold up or will the calf strain that plagued the end of his 2020 campaign become a chronic issue to keep him off the field in 2021 as well?

Taylor Heinicke is currently not under contract, and while this is a small issue should the team elect to bring him back due to his 2nd round tender as a restricted free agent, is his level of play in the wild card round vs Tampa Bay something that it sustainable? Mike Florio of Pro Football talk seems to think Heinicke may have “emptied his tank” into that performance. There is also the question of his health as he has endure multiple injuries in so few opportunities to play.

Kyle Allen showed some spark when he was given the reigns after the benching of Dwayne Haskins, but eventually would only last a few weeks before dislocating his ankle to be lost for the year.

While it is certainly possible, I do not find it probably that the answer at QB for the team is currently on the roster.

Trade Market

Any time someone even whispers the name of an NFL Quarterback and the idea that they might want out of their current situation, you can count on one thing: swarms of twitter users tweeting their favorite trade scenarios and jersey swap photoshops of that QB to Washington. After you sift through all the bad edits and the “trade Landon Collins for Deshaun Watson straight up” garbage that twitter has to offer, you see the smoke to the trade rumors begin to plume.

Every year there are names of players who could become available via trade. This year is no different. With the news about disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson wanting out of Houston, speculation begins to swirl about who could land him and what he would have to give up. This would obviously be a massive upgrade for WFT at the most important position on the field, but would the cost be too great?

With the news breaking that Martin Mayhew and NOT Marty Hurney will be the new General Manager of the Washington Football Team, fans have begun to link WFT to veteran signal caller Matt Stafford, currently of the Detroit Lions. The logic to follow here is that with a new regime in Detroit, they may want to get their own guy and start the rebuild, while Mayhew who drafted Stafford number one overall as the GM of the Lions in the 2009 NFL draft. While Stafford isn’t Watson, he’s still a significant upgrade to the level of play provided by the position this past season. Stafford turns 33 years old in about 2 weeks and would possibly provide 2 to 3 more seasons of above average play.

Other names that have been thrown around as hypothetical trade targets include former NFL MVP Matt Ryan, current Carolina Panthers starting QB Teddy Bridgewater, and former first round pick Sam Darnold. The Team has never been shy about trading to find its Quarterback with both Alex Smith and Kyle Allen coming on board via trades.

Free Agency

Free agency is the easiest way to add talent to a position of need. It may also be the most expensive. With WFT needing a severe upgrade to the position they should exhaust all their efforts to do so. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is set to hit the open market after a his 2020 season ended due to a horrific compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in week 5 against the Giants (The same team that Kyle Allen dislocated his ankle against FWIW) . That said, after a franchise tag in 2020, it is unlikely that Jerry Jones will let the face of his franchise walk in 2021.

Enter a name familiar to Ron Rivera, Scott Turner, and new front office exec Marty Hurney. Cam Newton. After missing 15 games in 2019, Cam Newton signed with the New England Patriots, Following the exodus of long time QB Tom Brady to Tampa. While Cam did not exactly wow anyone throwing the ball to the tune of 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, he did run the ball well and show that he was durable enough to play an entire season one year removed from his season ending injury.

Othe notable free agent QBs include: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mitch Trubisky, Jameis Winston, Tyrod Taylor, and Andy Dalton.

Draft

Despite finishing only 7-9 WFT as able to win the East and claim a home playoff appearance. As a result they find themselves with the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. While there will be a few options available for them at Quarterback at 19, the likes of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, and BYU’s Zach Wilson will likely be long gone. That leaves options like North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, Alabama’s Mac Jones, or Florida’s Kyle Trask as QB options that some have projected as possibly being first round picks. Lance had a stellar 2019 outing throwing zero interceptions all season to go along with 28 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns. 2020 however brought a 1 game season for Lance due to NDSU canceling their season after week 1. Lance went 15-30 for 149 yards, 2 touchdowns and an Interception, however he did add an addition 143 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground vs Central Arkansas in his lone 2020 performance. PFF analyst Mike Renner has referred to Lance as a “somewhat accurate” version of Saints QB Taysum Hill. Mac Jones fresh off a dominant national title performance wowed the country. The big concern for Jones is his lack of any elite physical traits and the fact that he has enjoyed the nations best offensive talent around him. per PFF he only completed passes into 44 tight windows all year, signifying that Jones had plenty of wide open looks from Heisman trophy winner DeVonta Smith and fellow first round projection Jaylen Waddle at WR this year. Kyle Trask had a good year by anyones standards, leading the nation in both passing yards and touchdowns, despite finishing the season with a blow out loss to Oklahoma. Trask, struggles to push the ball down field and excels in short rhythm based offense. Sound like Alex Smith to you? Other late round options include QBs like Texas A&M Star Kellen Mond, Texas Longhorn’s long time starter Sam Ehlinger, and Georgia stand out Jamie Newman. All three are likely to be day 3 picks with little upside than being career backups unless the XFL comes calling in 2022.

The Washington Football team have their work cut out for them on offense let alone just at the QB position. There are numerous avenues they could explore to address the most important position in football. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have a clear path at landing a clear franchise quarterback, so Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew will have to get to work sooner than later on constructing a plan of attack for the position. With a defense like this and some young budding talent on offense, the window for this team to contend may be opening sooner than later. Grabbing the right QB is easier said than done.

To steal from a legend and idol of mine, Rich Tandler

16 days left until Super Bowl LV.

54 days left until the new league year and start of the free agency period.

97 days left until the 2021 NFL draft