Free agent QB chaos: Teams have different needs

When the 2018 NFL league year begins in less than a month, the jockeying for position among the league's quarterbacks might be similar to the crowded field at the Kentucky Derby each May. After AJ McCarron was declared an unrestricted free agent Thursday, that swelled to 29 the number of unrestricted free agents whose contracts will expire at 4 p.m. ET March 14. In addition, by the time the day before the Ides of March arrives, Buffalo's Tyrod Taylor and Chicago's Mike Glennon are expected to be added to the list. Complicating matters is the turnover there has been in coaching spots since the end of the 2017 regular season. Not only are there seven teams with new head coaches, four of which will be led by men with offensive pedigrees, but the coaching carousel has resulted in 20 teams entering the 2018 season with an offensive coordinator different than the one who was in that role at the start of the 2017 season. Adding to that are 16 teams with a new quarterbacks coach. Thirteen teams have changes in both assistant coaching roles. Naturally, the question will be which teams will turn out to be fervent players in the market for a quarterback, whether it's for a starter or backup. While we expect 14 teams to stay with the status quo at the position, six are searching for a 2018 starter, six could be looking for the successor to the current starter, and another six need a backup. One of the half-dozen teams with an unknown starter is Minnesota, which has to decide which of their three free agents -- Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater -- will enter training camp as the starter and backup. It's possible only one will be back, which would also put the Vikings in the market for a backup. Following is a look at each NFL team and their perceived status in the quarterback market. Also included is each team's current quarterbacks group and those with changes in those important offensive jobs. Notable is that 16 listed quarterbacks ended the 2017 season on either reserve/injured or reserve/non-football injury. Another nine (designated by an asterisk*) have been signed since the end of the season. STAND PAT --Atlanta: Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub, *Garrett Grayson New QB coach: Greg Knapp Schaub has been a trusted backup since his starting status blew up in Houston, but the Falcons haven't needed him. Ryan played every snap last season and was off the field for only four snaps in 2016. --Baltimore: Joe Flacco, Ryan Mallett, *Josh Woodrum New QB coach: James Urban There are those who believe the Ravens should consider moving on from Flacco, but he still has the ability to be a top-quality performer. It wouldn't be a surprise if Baltimore added a young quarterback in the middle rounds of the draft. --Carolina: Cam Newton, Derek Anderson (UFA), Garrett Gilbert New coordinator: Norv Turner; new QB coach: Scott Turner There's no reason to think Anderson won't return for another season as Newton's backup, but the Turners might have different thoughts. --Chicago: Mitchell Trubisky, Mark Sanchez (UFA), Mike Glennon New head coach: Matt Nagy; new coordinator: Mark Helfrich The Bears will cut bait with Glennon after a disastrous performance last season. Depending on what the new coaches think of Sanchez, a change in the backup is possible. --Detroit: Matthew Stafford, Jake Rudock, *Alex Torgersen New head coach: Matt Patricia; new QB coach: to be determined Despite the switch in head coaches, coordinator Jim Bob Cooter will still run the offense. The Lions appear fine with Rudock as the backup rather than an unknown quantity. --Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers (IR), Brett Hundley, Joe Callahan New coordinator: Joe Philbin; new QB coach: Frank Cignetti Jr. The question with Green Bay is what the organization believes they have in Hundley, who had his moments when Rodgers missed nine games last season. The strange problem was that he played better on the road than at home. --Indianapolis: Andrew Luck (IR), Jacoby Brissett, Scott Tolzien (UFA), Brad Kaaya, *Phillip Walker New head coach: Frank Reich; new coordinator: Nick Sirianni; new QB coach: to be determined A new coaching staff will determine what the depth chart looks like behind Luck. Brissett did as well as could be expected after being acquired just before the start of the 2017 season, but Reich and his assistants will determine whether changes will be made. --Jacksonville: Blake Bortles, Chad Henne (UFA) Continuity is usually the best approach on offense, and the Jaguars have that at quarterback and on the coaching staff. Still, Bortles enters the final season of his contract, and the team's brain-trust knows what's coming if they stay with him. --Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff, Sean Mannion, Brandon Allen (IR) New coordinators: Aaron Kromer, running game; Shane Waldron, passing game; new QB coach: Zac Taylor The price of success cost the Rams coordinator Matt LaFleur (Tennessee) and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson (Oakland). Of course, head coach Sean McVay remains in charge of the offense, and he split the coordinator duties between Kromer and Waldon while promoting Taylor from assistant receivers coach. --Miami: Ryan Tannehill (UFA/IR), Jay Cutler (UFA), Matt Moore (UFA), David Fales (RFA), *Brandon Doughty New coordinator: Dowell Loggains Tannehill returns from a knee injury that cost him the entire season, while Cutler is expected to head back to the broadcast booth. Moore, the perennial backup, will likely be re-signed. --Philadelphia: Carson Wentz (UFA), Nick Foles, Nate Sudfeld New coordinator, QB coach: to be determined Speaking of Foles, the Super Bowl MVP is obviously a great insurance policy, especially when there's no guarantee Wentz will be totally recovered from a torn ACL to be ready at the start of the season. The overriding question is whether another team will offer the Eagles enough for them to part with Foles. Success with one team doesn't automatically lead to success somewhere else. Meanwhile, head coach Doug Pederson is dealing with the departures of coordinator Frank Reich (Indianapolis) and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo (Minnesota). Pederson, who calls the plays, could mimic the approach McVay took with the Rams. --San Francisco: Jimmy Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard, *Nick Mullens The 49ers got Garoppolo's signature on a new contract, so all is well in Santa Clara. A quarterback in the draft might be selected to compete with Beathard. --Tampa Bay: Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick (UFA), Ryan Griffin The oft-traveled Fitzpatrick hopes to be re-signed, and that will happen unless head coach Dirk Koetter sees someone he likes in free agency. The Bucs also like the potential of Griffin. --Tennessee: Marcus Mariota, Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden (UFA), Alex Tanney (IR), *Tyler Ferguson New head coach: Mike Vrabel; new coordinator: Matt LaFleur; new QB coach: Pat O'Hara This could be another team in flux at the backup position after the changes made in the offensive staff. Cassel turns 36 in May. IN MARKET FOR STARTER; NOW --Arizona: Carson Palmer (retired), Matt Barkley (UFA), Blaine Gabbert (UFA), Drew Stanton (UFA) New head coach: Steve Wilks; new coordinator: Mike McCoy Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald decided to play another season despite the blank slate at quarterback and with a new staff, although Byron Leftwich returns as quarterbacks coach. The Cardinals are expected to spend a high draft pick on one, but will they invest in a bridge quarterback (Stanton or someone else), or simply hand the job over to a rookie? --Buffalo: Tyrod Taylor, Nathan Peterman, Joe Webb (UFA) New coordinator: Brian Daboll Most expect the Bills to set Taylor free, although a contract restructuring can't be dismissed. Peterman remains an option for the future, but it appears they will pursue a veteran. --Cleveland: DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan New coordinator: Todd Haley; new QB coach: Ken Zampese This is the year the Browns have to get it right with the first and fourth picks in the first round of the draft. New general manager John Dorsey will bring sanity to the Browns' personnel process. Keep in mind he acquired Alex Smith from the 49ers after being hired by the Chiefs in his last stop. --Denver: Trevor Siemian (IR), Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler (UFA), Chad Kelly (NFI) New coordinator: Bill Musgrave; new QB coach: Mike Sullivan Musgrave took over for Mike McCoy during the 2017 season, but the hodge-podge at the position is something general manager John Elway wants to solve. The Broncos could go strong for Kirk Cousins or use another pick in the draft as they did for Lynch. --Minnesota: Case Keenum (UFA), Sam Bradford (UFA), Teddy Bridgewater (UFA), Kyle Sloter --New coordinator: John DeFilippo Will Minnesota pay big money for Keenum, who surprised everyone, including the Vikings, with his 2017 production? Bradford is an injury waiting to happen, while Bridgewater hasn't played since the 2015 season. The market for him, if he is ruled an unrestricted free agent, is unknown. --New York Jets: Josh McCown (UFA), Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg, *Joel Stave New coordinator: Jeremy Bates Bates was promoted from quarterbacks coach and will likely be part of the process that tries to figure out where this team is headed at the position. McCown will be 39 in July, but still could be their best option as the immediate starter. Problematical is whether another pick is spent in the draft and if the organization moves on from Petty and/or Hackenberg. IN MARKET FOR STARTER; HEIR APPARENT --Los Angeles Chargers: Philip Rivers, Kellen Clemens (UFA), Cardale Jones The ageless Rivers isn't slowing down, but addressing who eventually takes over is paramount unless they believe Jones is capable. --New England: Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer With Josh McDaniels staying as offensive coordinator, he will likely be part of the process that determines whether the Patriots can find another Garoppolo in the draft to eventually replace Brady. --New Orleans: Drew Brees (UFA), Chase Daniel (UFA), Taysom Hill It appears only a matter of when Brees signs another contract, not if. Will Daniel be back? Most likely, unless Nick Foles leaves Philadelphia. Even with the 39-year-old Brees continuing to play, the Saints should be planning for the future. --New York Giants: Eli Manning, Geno Smith (UFA), Davis Webb New head coach: Pat Shurmur; new coordinator/QB coach: Mike Shula The previous regime liked Webb enough to select him in the third round in 2017. Now, it will be Shurmur and new general manager Dave Gettleman who will determine where they stand on Webb and who will be the backup to Manning. --Pittsburgh: Ben Roethlisberger, Landry Jones, Joshua Dobbs New coordinator: Randy Fichtner Jones has been with the Steelers since 2013, while Dobbs was drafted last year. Roethlisberger turns 36 on March 2. --Washington: Kirk Cousins (UFA), Colt McCoy, Stephen Morris Head-scratching decisions have been par for the course for the Redskins for a long time. Cousins played for the franchise tag the last two seasons, and now appears headed for unrestricted free agency after a trade agreement was made to add Alex Smith, a deal that can't be official until March 14. Instead of locking up Cousins long-term, now the Redskins are faced with figuring out who will be the successor to Smith, who will be 34 in May. IN MARKET FOR BACKUP --Cincinnati: Andy Dalton, AJ McCarron (UFA), Jeff Driskel (IR) New coordinator: Bill Lazor; new QB coach: Alex Van Pelt With McCarron ruled an unrestricted free agent, the Bengals will likely be in the market for either an experienced veteran behind Dalton or one in the draft to compete with Driskel. Lazor replaced Ken Zampese as the coordinator early in the 2017 season. --Dallas: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Zac Dysert (IR) New QB coach: Kellen Moore Despite it making sense to be better prepared behind Prescott, the Cowboys' recent history is to stay young. Rush became the backup as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Another late-round pick or free agent will be their likely route this offseason to compete with Rush. --Houston: Deshaun Watson (IR), Tom Savage (IR), T.J. Yates (IR), Josh Johnson (UFA), Taylor Heinicke New QB coach: To be determined The Texans expect Watson to be fine after suffering a torn ACL, but they must protect themselves. Savage suffered a nasty concussion at the end of the 2017 season, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him return. --Kansas City: Alex Smith, Patrick Mahomes, Tyler Bray (UFA) New coordinator: Eric Bieniemy; new QB coach: Mike Kafka Smith is headed to Washington with Mahomes expected to be anointed as the starter. That leaves a gaping hole at the backup spot. Would the Chiefs take a run at bringing Foles back? Perhaps. But paying a high price in draft picks doesn't seem smart. --Oakland: Derek Carr, Connor Cook, EJ Manuel (UFA) New head coach: Jon Gruden; new coordinator: Greg Olson; new QB coach: Brian Callahan The relationship between Carr and Gruden will be watched closely. The reality is that Gruden didn't develop great quarterbacks during his previous time in Oakland and Tampa, and Carr should be the best he's had. It will be worth watching what he does behind Carr. --Seattle: Russell Wilson, Austin Davis (UFA), *Trevone Boykin New coordinator: Brian Schottenheimer; new QB coach: Dave Canales The Seahawks are another team that has been cavalier with their depth chart after Wilson. Boykin was on the practice squad last season after being the backup as a rookie in 2016. The shakeup in the coaching staff orchestrated by head coach Pete Carroll has also raised eyebrows around the league.