10 BEST 2022 FREE AGENT QUARTERBACKS

BY ADAM GREENE

With the salary cap abnormally low in the 2021-22 season due to fanless stadiums and COVID-19 the year before, this offseason boasts a particularly robust free agent market.

No position better exemplifies that than the quarterback class, boasting six former first round picks, one former league Most Valuable Player, five men that led teams to the postseason and one that started a Super Bowl.

Of the 10 men I’ve selected for this list, some are primed to start for teams in the fall as upgrades for their current (or 2021) starters. Others are high end back ups that have proven they can win games if called upon. Many are men that have stumbled through bad luck, timing and injuries.

I’ve written it many times and it remains true. There are 32 franchises in the NFL. There are not 32 franchise quarterbacks on Planet Earth. Sometimes, you just have to go to war with the best guy you have.

10. RYAN FITZPATRICK

2021:  50 completion percentage, 13 yards

If Ryan Fitzpatrick is healthy last season, the Washington Commanders were probably a playoff team. With just a one year deal, he’s back on the market and in danger of, once again, being signed by a team with a young quarterback that Fitzpatrick’s presence and talent can completely ruin.

Fitz isn’t a starter, but he can start and play extremely well. Well enough that if you’re, say, Zach Wilson, it’s a problem having him in the building. You want to develop a young guy and play him, not push him with a vet like Fitzpatrick. The fact that Fitz continually finds himself in these situations just shows how poorly so many of these teams are managed and why their highly touted quarterback picks are doomed from the start.

As such, a real general manager should look at Fitz as insurance for an already established quarterback.

Perfect landing spot: Buffalo Bills

With Mitchell Trubisky departing as a free agent, there’s no reason not to bring in their former starter to back up Josh Allen. Of course, the wrench in the works could be that Fitzpatrick, after colleting over $82 million in his NFL career, could call it a day and head to the broadcast booth.

Fitzpatrick can’t “push” Allen, who is an NFL superstar. What he can do is win a game or two if Allen gets nicked up in the regular season, something that could happen with his physical style of play.

9. TYROD TAYLOR

2021: 60.7 completion percentage, 966 yards, five touchdowns, five interceptions, 151 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns

Taylor has had one of the strangest NFL careers on record. No one has believed and bet on himself more only to see those bets continually come back as pushes and no pays. Last year Taylor once again made the decision to sign with a team in which he could start, only to get injured once again and displaced by a rookie.

As usual, Taylor played well when he got onto the field and can win football games as a starter. But, like Fitzpatrick, he shouldn’t be a starter. He should be a back up called in from the bullpen when the starter goes down. Taylor, and you can hardly blame him, has never felt this way about himself.

Perfect Landing Spot: Baltimore Ravens

Like the Bills, Baltimore is losing a talented back up to free agency and likely greener pastures. If they’re going to keep Greg Roman employed and run his Pop Warner offense, then they need to keep guys on the team that can pull the trigger outside of Jackson, who was hurt all through the end of last season. Taylor is that guy, a former Raven, and ran Roman’s offense when both were with Buffalo.

8. CAM NEWTON

2021: 54.8 completion percentage, 684 yards, four touchdowns, five interceptions, 47 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns

It breaks my heart to slide in Cam Newton this low, but last year, for the first time, he started to look a little old. There’s every chance that his lackluster looking performances weren’t his fault. For the second year in a row, he did not get to go through a full offseason and training camp with the team he eventually landed with. It could be that if a team snatches him up now, he can bounce back to somewhere close to what he used to be. Getting 85 percent of 2015-2018 Cam Newton is still a pretty good quarterback.

But no one should be looking at Cam, with what he put on tape last season, as their starter coming in. What would be great for a team with an iffy QB situation is to let Newton compete for the job.

Perfect landing spot: Carolina Panthers

I know I’m not the only one that enjoyed the reunification of the Panthers and the best quarterback in their franchise’s history. I also can’t be alone in wishing it had gone better. Carolina is probably stuck with Sam Darnold another season and unless they pull the trigger on one of the rookies early in the draft, there’s no reason to not let Cam and Sam duke it out in training camp for the job.

7. JACOBY BRISSETT

2021: 62.7 completion percentage, 1,283 yards, five touchdowns, four interceptions, 70 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown

If you’re doing the math here, we’ve yet to cross into “signing a starter” territory, but still in high end back up mode. Brissett is a lot like Taylor in that he wants to be a starter and feels like he can be, but any team putting him on the field for 17 games is looking at a 3-5 win season.

Brissett has started 37 games in the NFL and never led a team to a winning record. But, there’s a reason these franchises have no fear of tossing him the ball. He went 2-3 in spot work for the Miami Dolphins last year and put up NFL numbers in each one. A player like Brissett, who won’t lose you a game, but probably won’t make consistent plays to win one, can be the difference in making the playoffs and missing them for a team dealing with a QB injury. And while the league might be dropping all its official COVID-19 protocols, it doesn’t mean the pandemic, and guys missing games due to illness, is just going to go away.

Perfect fit: Las Vegas Raiders

Like many of the above guys, you want Brissett to be an asset to your team, not push your starter. Derek Carr is firmly established now, and I would venture to call him a borderline franchise quarterback. Brissett can keep the ship afloat if Carr gets nicked for a game or two and like Marcus Mariota, who he would be replacing, could add some red zone wrinkles.

6. JOSH ROSEN

2021: 18.2 completion percentage, 19 yards, two interceptions

Rosen is another bad signing or two from heading to one of our great lost quarterback careers. He was taken No. 10 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2018 NFL Draft and had, by all accounts, an above average rookie season on a bad team. He completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in a division with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

Then, the team dumped him for Kyler Murray when Kliff Kingsbury was hired and he’s not been able to get back on track since. He spent last season with the Falcons, backing up Matt Ryan, and played poorly when he got in. His career is now at a crossroads, with the XFL or USFL looming in his future.

Perfect fit: Los Angeles Rams

Rosen’s top comparison coming out of college, when Mike Mayock wasn’t calling him the “next Matt Ryan,” as he is wont to do, was Jared Goff. Rams head coach Sean McVay obviously got the most out of Goff and if that’s where Rosen tops out, then he’s an OK NFL starter.

The Rams are currently looking at Bryce Perkins as their back up QB this year and will want to pay nothing in the position with their salary cap situation and star heavy roster. Rosen can take a minimum deal and re-learn the position from the best offensive coach in the game. And maybe win a Super Bowl ring in the process.

5. TEDDY BRIDGEWATER

2021: 66.9 completion percentage, 3,052 yards, 18 touchdowns, seven interceptions, 106 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns

We have now crossed the high end back up to NFL starter line of demarcation in our rankings. Bridgewater’s stock has taken a hit in recent seasons thanks to being on bad teams. He had a winning record as a starter, even going 5-0 coming off the bench for the New Orleans Saints in 2019, but went 4-11 in his stint with the Panthers and 7-7 with the Denver Broncos last season.

If you look at his stat line, he’s the same guy he’s always been. A Kurt Cousins type, who won’t lose you a game, but probably won’t deliver the “wow” plays it takes to take home a ring without a dominating defense. He’s smart, protects the ball and has never thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in a season, not even when he was a rookie.

Perfect fit: New Orleans Saints

There’s no reason not to reunite with the team he helped make the postseason a couple of years ago. They have no quarterback on the roster right now, and yes, I realize Taysom Hill is on the roster right now. Bridgewater knows the system, can thrive in it, and make the most out of the offensive players Dennis Allen still has on the team.

4. TYLER HUNTLEY

2021: 64.9 completion percentage, 1,081 yards, three touchdowns, four interceptions, 294 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns

Huntley started four games for the Baltimore Ravens last season and finished 1-3 and while that might not impress on its face, if you watched the kid play in those contests, you know he wasn’t the issue. Two of the three losses were by one score and all three of his losses came against playoff teams, including the two that met in the Super Bowl.

While I have many complaints about offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s offense, Huntley’s performance in it looked very Lamar Jackson-esque. In fact, you can describe his game as Lamar Jackson Lite and pretty much sum it up.

Is he an NFL starter? It’s hard to say, but he looked the part when handed the keys last year and made some dynamic plays in big games to keep his team alive for the playoffs down to the wire.

Perfect fit: Cleveland Browns

While I think teams in need of a QB should look at Huntley as a potential “and inexpensive” starter to test drive this season, it’s Cleveland’s best interests to bring someone in as some Baker Mayfield insurance. The fact that you’re stealing him from a division rival is just a bonus. Case Keenum is one of the most expensive backups in the league and he’s worth it, but he’s not the guy to take over the team if Mayfield flames out. Huntley might be.

3. JAMEIS WINSTON

2021: 59 completion percentage, 1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions, 32 rushing yards, one touchdown

Before tearing his ACL last season, Winston led the Saints to a 5-2 start, with huge wins over the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If Winston hadn’t gone down in that same Bucs game, New Orleans probably coasts into the playoffs.

Winston’s issues back as a potential “franchise” quarterback and No. 1 overall pick were turnovers. He’s the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in a single season. In nearly half a season as the starter for New Orleans, he threw 14 touchdowns and just three picks.

Perfect fit: Washington Commanders

With Aaron Rodgers now officially off the market and the Seahawks not particularly interested in trading Russell Wilson, especially to another team in the conference, the Commanders have been scouring every QB option. Watson still might be the best possible fit, and he’ll definitely be traded, but Winston would be significantly cheaper and allow Washington to build around him (and build up the rest of their team) by keeping its draft capital.

2. MITCHELL TRUBISKY

2021: 75 completion percentage, 43 yards, one interception

The irony of the NFL combine and the potential draftable quarterbacks present is that the talk of Indianapolis was none other than Mitchell Trubisky, former No. 2 overall pick. Trubisky has been unjustly maligned as an NFL starter simply because of his draft position. He was taken ahead of Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes in the 2017, but that’s hardly his fault. If he was the fourth QB taken in that draft, who would complain?

Trubisky is 29-21 as a starter and led the Chicago Bears to the playoff twice under Matt Nagy. You saw what the team looked like without Trubisky last season. The only year he posted a losing record as a starter was his rookie season when he went 4-8.

Perfect fit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bruce Arians can talk up Blaine Gabbert as a starter all he wants, but Gabbert is a free agent this offseason too and there’s a reason he’s not shown up on this list. The market for Trubisky is robust and he could easily end up on a team like the Denver Broncos or Indianapolis Colts, but I think those two squads are going to push hard for a Watson trade (and they should). Whichever one doesn’t land Watson, will probably go for Jimmy Garoppolo. Trubisky will be gone in free agency’s opening days.

The Bucs make too much sense. Trubisky’s skillset fits their personnel and he’d allow them to keep the draft picks they have and push the acquisition of a rookie QB to next season at least.

1. MARCUS MARIOTA

2021: 50 completion percentage, four yards, 87 rushing yards, one rushing touchdowns

Mariota has taken a two season break, serving as Derek Carr’s back up in Las Vegas and playing very well any time they’ve tossed him on the field. Back with the Tennessee Titans, he led the team to the playoffs in 2017 with Mike Mularkey as his dead coach and picked up their first postseason victory since 2008.

The acquisition of Ryan Tannehill and an offense that didn’t fit his best skillset ended his time in Tennessee, but Mariota is 29-32 as a starter and, in his five years where he did start, posted a losing record just twice and one of those was his rookie season. He was 2-4 when Tannehill took over in 2019.

Perfect fit: Pittsburgh Steelers

One of the big losers in Rodgers and the Packers burying the hatchet Tuesday morning was the Steelers, who never trade boatloads of picks for anyone, but were about to pull the trigger on the reigning NFL MVP. It obviously didn’t happen, so it’s back to the drawing board for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers will likely be very involved in the Jimmy Garoppolo sweepstakes, but the Colts and Broncos are more desperate and I think the price will get too high. Mariota, on the other hand, can be had for two years, $18 million or so and immediately impact the team with his playmaking ability and an offense more suited to what he can do. I have not given up on Mariota’s franchise QB potential and, in the right situation, he can find a forever home and keep a team like the Steelers in contention.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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