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Best remaining QB options following Joe Flacco trade

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles

Now that Joe Flacco is on his way to Denver following a trade to the Broncos, NFL teams in need of a quarterback have seen the field shrink.

Already a frighteningly mediocre group to begin with, this year’s class of free agent and draftable quarterbacks doesn’t offer much hope to teams desperate for a franchise passer.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at best remaining options for teams in need of help under center this offseason.

Nick Foles

The late-season/playoff version of Foles the past couple of years has him at the top of the free agency heap. Nobody can deny he was fantastic for the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl and resurrecting the team’s postseason hopes in both 2017 and 2018. Foles has had nice stretches as a starter, but he also has been quite mediocre. One wonders if his success was more a product of Doug Pederson’s system (and Chip Kelly’s quarterback-friendly system before that) than a legitimate franchise quarterback.

Teddy Bridgewater

At this point, nobody really knows what Bridgewater can bring to the table long term as a starter. He hasn’t been a starter since his ill-fated knee injury in the summer of 2016. Sitting behind Drew Brees last year had to have been good for the still-young passer. But his lone appearance with the Saints in 2018 didn’t produce much in the way of positive momentum.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Can Fitzpatrick sling it? Heck yes he can. FitzMagic swept across the nation for a few weeks early last season, and it was glorious. Yet we can’t ignore the fact that Fitzpatrick threw 12 interceptions in just eight games. Or, that in 141 career games he’s thrown it to the opposing team 148 times. FitzMagic is fun. He’s also a turnover machine.

Case Keenum

Well, perhaps all you need to know about Keenum is that he just got kicked to the curb in Denver…for Flacco. The Broncos signed Keenum in free agency last year after he had an outstanding season with the Minnesota Vikings. But that one season was a huge outlier. Take that campaign away, and he’s a guy who has thrown 42 touchdowns and 35 interceptions in 43 games.

Tyrod Taylor

Taylor had some success in Buffalo. He went 22-20 as a starter, completing 62.6 percent of his passes, throwing 51 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions. Yet Buffalo couldn’t wait to move on. And the same thing happened in Cleveland, though Baker Mayfield proved to be one of the best rookie passers the league has seen in a long time. It will be shocking if Taylor is anything other than a backup the rest of his career.

Dwayne Haskins

A big-bodied quarterback with big-game experience this past year, Haskins can sling it and has outstanding accuracy when his feet are set. His 2018 season was legendary, as Haskins broke some of Drew Brees’ Big Ten records, passing for 4,851 yards with 50 touchdowns and just eight interceptions His lack of overall experience, however, likely means Haskins will be better served to sit behind a tenured starter for a year than being thrown to the wolves early.

Daniel Jones

A player many scouts are enamored with due to his prototypical size and big-time arm, Jones is an intriguing prospect. He has three years of starting experience at Duke and showed out at the Senior Bowl. The glaring issue that many will balk at is that Jones completed less than 60 percent of his passes in college. Generally, quarterbacks don’t get more accurate in the NFL.

Drew Lock

A four-year starter at Missouri, Lock certainly looks the part. At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, he withstood the abuse the SEC dished out and kept coming back for more. Lock also showed improvement in each of his four years with the Tigers, though in terms of yardage and touchdowns his junior campaign was clearly his most prolific. The Broncos have been said to be enamored with Lock, and one wonders if John Elway will still attempt to land him after the Flacco trade.

Kyler Murray

The most exciting quarterback prospect of this year’s draft, Murray’s 2018 season was one that will be remembered for a long time. He won the Heisman Trophy and displayed elite-level traits as both a runner and passer (watch this throw). He also led Oklahoma all the way to the CFP Semifinal, even though the Sooners were an abomination on the defensive side of the ball. Still, height and overall size concerns will cause some teams to look elsewhere.

Will Grier

A prolific passer at West Virginia, Grier showed a knack for perfect ball placement on tough throws that required touch (like this). He threw 71 touchdowns and just 20 interceptions the past two years for the Mountaineers and has the potential to develop into an excellent pro. However, it’s expected that Grier will fall into the second round of the upcoming draft due to his size and lack of elite physical traits.

Colin Kaepernick

Broken record? Absolutely. The bottom line is that, while Kaepernick would be a huge upgrade to many teams’ current starters from a production and talent basis, NFL owners have made it clear that he’s seen as a distraction. Kaepernick is Tim Tebow in terms of media fascination. Basically, teams have decided that the media attention that will inevitably come with him is not worth what he brings to the field. Like it or lump it.

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