Some teams around the NFL are waiting for the upcoming draft to address both their immediate and long-term needs at the quarterback position. Other teams decided to step into a watered-down free agent market to find stopgap options.
Much like we have seen for the better part of the past decade, there are some really bad quarterback situations out there. From Rex Ryan creating a three-way competition in Buffalo to Jay Cutler’s tenuous hold on the Bears job, here are the five-worst quarterback situations in the NFL leading up to the draft.
1. Buffalo Bills
Quarterbacks: E.J. Manuel, Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor
Courtesy of the New York Post: There is no favorite in Buffalo’s QB quagmire.
This sure does look like a Rex Ryan-led quarterback depth chart. The former New York Jets head coach indicated that it would be an open competition for the Bills starting job. And without a first-round pick, the team will head into training camp with these three vying for the job. That’s not necessarily an ideal plan, especially considering the only viable starter here is a player in Matt Cassel who is five years removed from being an above-average signal caller in the NFL.
E.J. Manuel, a first-round pick in 2013 NFL draft, was benched in favor of the now retired Kyle Orton after four starts last season. Issues with understanding the playbook and translating his game to the NFL played a role there. In 14 career starts, Manuel is averaging just 187.3 passing yards per game and has 16 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions. As it relates to Tyrod Taylor, there isn’t much to see here. The Virginia Tech product has thrown a total of 35 regular season passes in four seasons.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterbacks: Mike Glennon and Seth Lobato
Even if Tampa Bay selects Jameis Winston first overall later this month, it probably wouldn’t find itself outside of the bottom two or three here. Teams simply can’t expect a rookie quarterback to turn things around unless he is a generation-type talent like Andrew Luck. Winston isn’t.
Based on the Buccaneers current depth chart, it’s obvious they are selecting a quarterback with that top pick. Glennon could very well be traded between now and the end of the draft. If not, he’d make for a serviceable backup or stopgap starter. All things equal, at least Tampa Bay has a reasonable plan to build up its quarterback position. Whether that plan (Winston) is the answer remains to be seen.
3. Cleveland Browns
Quarterbacks: Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel and Connor Shaw
Courtesy of USA Today: Will Mike Pettine give Manziel a real shot at the job?
This situation is more confounding than anything else. Will Cleveland go into training camp with these three quarterbacks vying for the starting gig? We should get an answer to that question by the time the first day of the draft wraps up. Based on recent reports, Manziel is expected to be out of rehab and with the team for its organized team activities later this month. If so, he won’t necessarily find himself behind the proverbial eight ball in comparison to the newly signed McCown.
If the Browns do indeed target a quarterback in the first round or trade for a veteran, this situation gets a bit more convoluted. Does that mean Manziel is on the trade block? Either way, it’s always a bad situation when a team has to potentially select a quarterback in the first round for the third time in four years. Ouch!
4. Chicago Bears
Quarterbacks: Jay Cutler, Jimmy Clausen and David Fales
The unknown of one Jay Cutler makes Chicago’s quarterback situation questionable. It’s been about five years since this former first-round pick was anywhere near an above-average quarterback in the NFL. He leads the league in turnovers over the past two seasons, and was even benched in lieu of Jimmy Clausen for a time last year. The talent is most definitely there, but Cutler has yet to fully utilize it to become a successful quarterback in the NFL. At nearly 32, time is running out for him to actually prove he’s a legitimate starter on a playoff team.
Outside of Cutler, the Bears don’t have much here. Clausen may have “beat out” Cutler in an in-season competition last year, but it’s hard to imagine him taking the reigns on a full time basis. After all, this is a quarterback that almost found himself out of the league completely before Chicago picked him up off the scrapheap last summer. The Notre Dame product possesses a 1-10 record in 11 career starts and has thrown five touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions during that span.
5. Houston Texans
Quarterbacks: Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer and Tom Savage
Depending on how Mallett performs during offseason activities and training camp, the Texans may actually find themselves in better quarterback situation than most people anticipate. He looked good in his first real regular season playing time after being picked up from the New England Patriots last year. However, there just isn’t a large enough sample size for Houston to rely on Mallett.
While sample size isn’t an issue for Hoyer, success is. He started out last season fine with Cleveland, but ended it on a disastrous note. In his final six games, this former Michigan State standout racked up two touchdowns compared to nine interceptions en-route to a 2-4 record. That’s just not going to get it done.
Photo: USA Today Sports