The NFL is a quarterback driven league. Teams can put together a star-laden roster throughout, but if they don’t have an above-average signal caller under center, it puts them behind the proverbial eight ball as it relates to competing for a championship.
For a vast majority of those teams who didn’t live up to expectations this past season, there was one major commonality…they didn’t have that franchise guy.
Here are five NFL teams who must add a starting quarterback this offseason.
1. Oakland Raiders
Kirby Lee, USA Today: Oakland doesn’t seem to think Pryor is the answer here. If not, it is one of five NFL teams who need to add a quarterback.
Whether it’s Terrelle Pryor or Matt McGloin competing for a starting gig in Raiders training camp this summer, fans in Napa better hope that a new acquisition wins the starting gig. These two quarterbacks combined for 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions last season. That’s simply not going to get it done, especially in an AFC West that boasted three Pro Bowl quarterbacks.
There have been numerous veteran quarterbacks linked to Oakland this offseason, including soon-to-be Houston Texans castoff Matt Schaub, who is rumored to be on the trading block.
While free agency continues, #Texans continue their push to trade QB Matt Schaub & his $14.5M cap hit. #Raiders & #Browns have some interest
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2014
In some ways, Schaub makes sense. He’d be a stopgap option for a team that needs a long-term solution. Acquiring his services wouldn’t necessarily preclude the Raiders from adding a franchise-type quarterback No. 5 overall in the draft this upcoming May.
Other options that have been bandied about for Oakland include: Michael Vick and Josh Freeman.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
Kirby Lee, USA Today: Despite signing Henne to a two-year contract, Jacksonville needs to add a young quarterback.
Jacksonville retained veteran Chad Henne on a two-year, $8 million contract prior to the start of free agency (via ESPN). It also traded away former top-10 pick Blaine Gabbert to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a late-round selection this May.
That leaves Henne as the only realistic veteran option on the roster, and it’s not necessarily the sexiest of options. He boasts a career .360 winning percentage with seven more interceptions than touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 75.3.
Where Gus Bradley and Co. have done well adding to a strong young defense in free agency, it’s not going to matter all too much if Henne is forced to be the primary starter heading into the 2014 season.
Blessed with the third overall pick, the Jaguars have an opportunity to find that franchise guy. Outside of a team trading up for a quarterback with the Rams at No. 2, the Jaguars should be able to choose from at least two of the three top signal callers in the draft class. They have been linked mostly to former Louisville standout Teddy Bridgewater, who is the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the draft.
Don’t expect the Jaguars to look for a veteran option on a watered-down free agent market. It’ll either be Henne or a rookie starting Week 1.
3. Houston Texans
As I mentioned before, Houston is looking to either trade or release Matt Schaub. This means that barring an unrealistic move to acquire a veteran, it will either have to go with one of its two in-house options in the form of T.J. Yates and Case Keenum or draft a quarterback early in May.
Interestingly enough, some have linked embattled New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to Houston.
When #Texans make their move with Matt Schaub (cut or trade), expect them to have interest in #Jets QB Mark Sanchez if/when he’s released
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2014
If the Texans were to go the rookie route, they would have the pick of the litter. All indications are that they’re more interested in Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel than they are in Teddy Bridgewater. While this runs contrary to most of the rankings out there, it could indicate a possible trade-down scenario with a team that is targeting Jadeveon Clowney at No. 1.
In any event, the Texans simply can’t continue to look at stopgap options. They need to go out there and find a veteran to take over long term. In this, the idea of acquiring Sanchez makes about as much sense as the Dallas Cowboys signing Brandon Weeden…oh wait.
4. Cleveland Browns
Brian Hoyer may very well be able to hold down the fort in Cleveland. He won all three of his starts with the team after being picked up from the Arizona Cardinals during the earliest stages of last season. In the process, Hoyer showed that he could be a serviceable quarterback in the NFL.
The issue here is that he’s coming off a torn ACL and hasn’t proven his worth for more than three games in five NFL seasons. For their part, the Browns haven’t had a true franchise guy under center since Bernie Kosar. Just think about that for a second.
As you can see above, Cleveland has been linked to Matt Schaub. Again, this doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Why bring him in to compete with a higher-upside quarterback in the form of the aforementioned Hoyer?
It’s high time that the Browns bite the bullet and spend a top-10 pick on a quarterback.
Courtesy Twitter: Why not Manziel to Cleveland?
The Browns have been linked more to Manziel than any other upper-echelon quarterback in the draft class. Teaming him up with Josh Gordon and newly acquired Andrew Hawkins as well as tight end Jordan Cameron and running back Ben Tate would immediately give Cleveland a strong young group upon which to build an offense.
One little hitch to this idea. Manziel is nowhere near pro ready. Spending a top-10 pick on him would mean that he’d likely end up being the starter Week 1. That wouldn’t be good for anyone involved. A more likely scenario is that Cleveland trades down from fourth overall and hedges its bets that Manziel or another top-tier quarterback will be available later.
5. Minnesota Vikings
Marc Lebryk, USA Today: Minnesota can’t possibly think Cassel is the answer, right?
Inexplicably, Minnesota re-signed Matt Cassell to a two-year, $10 million contract prior to the start of free agency, per CBS Sports. Maybe he showed something with the 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions he put up in six starts last season. Then again, it could have just been a foolish deal on the Vikings part.
He joins first-round bust Christian Ponder as the only two quarterbacks on Minnesota’s roster with starting experience. Yeah, that’s not what you would call winning at the quarterback position.
Minnesota has been linked to veterans Ryan Mallett and Kirk Cousins in trade scenarios, but it’s more likely that new head coach Mike Zimmer and Co. decide to go the draft route. In the humble opinion of this one scribe, Derek Carr makes sense. I value him as a top-10 pick and think that’s exactly where he is going to go. If not, the Vikings could hedge their bets and trade down in the first with the idea of picking him up later.
Photo: Kim Klement, USA Today